Rachel Carson was born in the USA on May27,1907. Her mother, Maria Carson, had been a schoolteacher. She loved books.She also loved nature. She showed Rachel the beauty of nature. She also taught Rachel a deep love for books. As a quiet child, Rachel liked to read and write stories. At a very early age, she decided she wanted to be a writer some day. Her story first appeared in a children’s magazine when she was ten years old.
Her first book, Under the Sea Wind came out in 1941. In 1948, Miss Carson began working on another book, The Sea Around Us. She always researched carefully when she wrote. She collected information from more than one thousand places to write The Sea Around Us. When the book came out in 1951, it won the National Book Award.It was No.1 on the best-seller list for more than a year.The Sea Around Us made Rachel Carson famous.
Rachel Carson’s most famous book, Silent Spring came out in 1962. In this book, she pointed out that the use of some kinds of pesticides(杀虫剂) like DDT would cause the number of birds to decline because it would kill them as well. Finally, in November 1969, the United States government decided that the use of DDT must stop in two years.
Rachel Carson has been regarded as a great environmentalist(环保主义者) and writer. She will be remembered by the world.Rachel Carson had a deep love for nature and books because of ____________ .
| A．her father | B．her mother |
| C．her schoolteacher | D．her brother |
Rachel decided that she wanted to be a writer when ___________ .
| A．she was very young | B．she was in college |
| C．she became a teacher | D．she became famous |
The Chinese meaning of the word “decline” in this passage is probably “___________” .
| A．增加 | B．减少 | C．维持 | D．翻番 |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Rachel Carson was a careful and serious writer. |
| B．The Sea Around Us won the National Book Award. |
| C．In Silent Spring Rachel said some pesticides were bad for the environment. |
| D．The use of DDT was stopped as soon as the book Silent Spring came out. |
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the second largest lake in the world. It is an important lake because it is one of the sources(源头) for the longest river in the world, the Nile River. Lake Victoria provides a source of water, food, and power(电力) for several African countries. Lake Victoria is a big part of African life.
Unfortunately, Lake Victoria has a problem. It is shrinking. There are several power stations at Lake Victoria in Uganda. These are on the Nile River, and besides producing power, they keep the water of the lake at a certain level. For the past forty years, that level has been 11.9 meters. Over the last several years, the water level has dropped by about 2.5 meters. There seem to be several reasons for this drop.
One possible reason is drought(干旱). Drought has been very bad in the area since 2000. Lake Victoria gets all of its water from rain, so the drought means less water in the lake.
However, some environmentalists believe that the real problem is the power plants(工厂) on Lake Victoria. Uganda depends on those power plants for most of its power, and they made the power plants larger in 2000. Many people believe the power plants have been taking too much water off Lake Victoria. As a result, they have been asked to use less water until Lake Victoria goes back to its old level.
Whether the low water level is caused by drought or power plants, the result is the same. This is already a poor area of Africa, where many people live a really hard life. People, animals and plants around Lake Victoria will suffer even more from low water levels on the lake. Many people need Lake Victoria for fishing or growing food. Fish need the water to live, and animals need it for water. Plants around the lake will die without the water, and then more animals and people will suffer. Unless the lake fills soon, many people will suffer and die.Lake Victoria is __________.
| A．an important lake in Africa |
| B．the largest lake in the world |
| C．the source of water, food and power for America |
| D．the only source for the Nile River |
What does “It is shrinking” most probably mean?
| A．It is becoming larger. |
| B．It is becoming more beautiful. |
| C．It is becoming smaller. |
| D．It is becoming more useful. |
The water level of Lake Victoria is now __________.
| A．2.5 meters | B．11.9 meters | C．14.4 meters | D．9.4 meters |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Rain water is the only source for the lake.
B. There has been little rain in the lake area since 2000.
C. The power plants in Uganda provide water for the lake.
D The power plants in Uganda were made larger in 2000.According to the passage, how can we solve the problems around Lake Victoria?
| A．People must build more power plants. |
| B．More sources of water must be found. |
| C．Every country should offer some money to Africa. |
| D．All the people living in the area should move to another place. |
It was Mother’s Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn’t go back home. When he walked by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. “I’ll send Mum some roses (玫瑰).”
While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. “How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?” he asked. The shop assistant told him that roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations(康乃馨). She told him they were a lot cheaper than roses.
“No, I have to have red roses,” he said, “My mum was badly ill last year and I didn’t get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses, as the rose is her favorite.”
After hearing this, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the shop assistant said, “Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you two.” Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air. He thanked John, and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the shop assistant to send them to his mother.
As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (墓地). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, “Mum, oh, Mum, why didn’t I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her.”
Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked back to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.The shop assistant tried to ask the young man to buy carnations instead of roses because _____.
| A．there were not enough roses in the shop |
| B．carnations were much nicer than roses |
| C．roses were more expensive than carnations |
| D．carnations were special flowers for Mother’s Day |
John spent _______ in the flower shop that day.
| A．$5 | B．$25 | C．$ 45 | D．$ 55 |
The young man cried at the cemetery because he _______.
| A．had spent all his money on the roses |
| B．wasn’t able to tell his mother he loved her himself |
| C．felt sorry to ask John to pay for his flowers |
| D．hadn’t got enough money for his sick mother |
At last John decided to take the roses home himself because he wanted to _______.
| A．tell his mother he loved her |
| B．ask his mother for more money |
| C．tell his mother the young man’s story |
| D．ask his mother if she liked roses |
The writer wrote this passage to tell us “_______”.
| A．Buy roses for your mother when she is ill |
| B．Let your mother know how much you love her |
| C．Work hard to get more money for your mother |
| D．Send your mother flowers on Mother’s Day |
The students were having their chemistry class. Miss Li was telling the children what water was like. After that, she asked her students, “What’s water?” No one spoke for a few minutes. Miss Li asked again, “Why don’t you answer my question? Didn’t I tell you what water is like?”
Just then a boy put up his hand and said, “Miss Li, you told us that water has no color and no smell. But where can we find such kind of water？The water in the river behind my house is always black and it has a bad smell.” Most of the children agreed with him.
“I’m sorry, children,” said the teacher. “Our water is getting dirtier and dirtier. That’s a problem.”Miss Li was a _______ teacher.
| A．English | B．Chinese | C．chemistry | D．math |
Miss Li was telling the children what ______ was like.
| A．water | B．air | C．earth | D．weather |
A boy said, “The water in the river behind my house is always _______.”
| A．white | B．black | C．clean | D．clear |
Most of the children _______ the boy.
| A．agreed with | B．wrote to |
| C．heard from | D．sent for |
The water in the river has color and smell because it is getting _______.
| A．more and more | B．less and less |
| C．cleaner and cleaner | D．dirtier and dirtier |
根据短文内容回答下面的问题。
As you’re using e-mails, remember that sending and getting letters can sometimes bring about serious trouble.
When Jim left the snow-covered streets of London for a holiday in New York, his wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him there the next day. When he reached his hotel in New York, he decided to send his wife a quick e-mail. But he couldn’t find the piece of paper on which he had written her e-mail address. He tried his best to remember where he had put it, but failed. Unluckily, he made a mistake and sent it to an old woman. Her husband had died a few years ago. When she saw the e-mail, she gave a terrible shout and fell on the floor. Her family rushed into the room and saw the message on the computer.
“Dearest wife, everything is ready for your arrival tomorrow.
Love, Jim.
P.S. it’s hot here.”Where was Jim for his holiday?
Why couldn’t Jim write his wife’s e-mail address correctly?
Was it hot in London?
Mr. and Mrs. Smith have just opened a small restaurant. In order to attract customers, they put a notice in front of the restaurant, which said: “Meals on the house for three days.”
A foreign student who didn’t know much English passed by the restaurant on the second day. It was lunchtime and he felt hungry. “Well, here is a restaurant. I’m going to have something to eat,” he said.
He saw the notice when he walked towards the restaurant. “American people are really strange. They even eat dinners on the house! But how can I get onto the top of the house?” he asked himself.
He looked around and found a ladder（梯子）against a tree nearby. He was very glad. But as he reached the top, he heard someone shouting at him: “Hey, what are you doing up there?” Mr Smith was looking at him angrily. Beside him was a policeman.
“Doesn’t your notice say ‘Meals on the house for three days’? Is it just a joke?” the foreign student answered.
On hearing this, both Mr Smith and the policeman burst into laughter(开怀大笑). “Do you know what On The House means?”
Do you know the meaning of On The House?The Smiths have ____________.
| A．opened a restaurant | B．built a house |
| C．climbed onto the top | D．been policemen |
The student walked past the restaurant ___________.
| A．when the Smiths started their business |
| B．when the Smiths put on the notice |
| C．when the policeman came to the restaurant |
| D．when it was time to have lunch |
The student ____________ so Mr Smith shouted at him.
| A．was very hungry |
| B．knew little about English |
| C．climbed onto the top of the house |
| D．took away the ladder |
“On the house” may mean that the meal _____________.
| A．is had on the house | B．is paid on the house |
| C．is made on the house | D．is free for the customers |