My 16-year-old son, Anton, had gone to the local swimming hole. Most of the kids swim there, and there are plenty of rocks for them to use as safe harbors, so I had no fears for his safety.
Still, the firefighter's first words "You need to come up here to the Stillwater River" made me catch my breath, and his follow-up words gave me relief: “ Your son is OK. ”
When I got to the river, I immediately saw the firetruck, ambulance and Anton, wrapped with a towel about his shoulders, sitting quietly on a low platform of the fire engine.
I hurried over to him. "You OK?" I asked.
“Yeah,” was all he said. But my eyes begged for an explanation, I didn't get it from my son, however, who tends to play his cards close to his vest.
The story was this: A woman was being swept under water. Hearing the cries, Anton and his friend Tyler, without hesitation, swam out to her, and brought her safely to shore.
In an age in which the word "hero" is broadcast with abandon and seemingly applied to anyone who make it through the day, I realized the real thing in my son. The teens are stubborn and self-centred, but that didn't mean they have no desire to do good.
Still shocked by my son's daring, I drove him home. Along the way, I tried to dig out some more information from him, but he had precious little to say. The only words he said were, “What's for supper?”
I spent some time alone that evening, thinking about the tragedy that might have been. The next morning, when Anton got up, I half expected him to tell me the story. But all he did was toast some bread, pull himself together, and head for the door to start a new day. Watching from the window, I was reminded that still water often runs deep.Why did the mother allow her son to swim there?
| A．He was an excellent swimmer. |
| B．The water of the river is shallow. |
| C．He was old enough to swim. |
| D．The rocks can be of help if there's danger. |
The underlined part "who tends to play his cards close to his vest" probably means________.
| A．Anton is a boy fond of swimming with other kids |
| B．Anton is unwilling to tell others what he thinks |
| C．Anton always has a desire to help others |
| D．Anton seldom changes his mind |
In the mother's eyes, what her son did was_________.
| A．dangerous but interesting | B．meaningful but difficult |
| C．unexpected and courageous | D．awful and absurd |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．My Son, My Hero | B．Anton, A Silent Boy |
| C．A Good Deed | D．A Proud Mother |
Ralph and Norton can grow to be 40 feet long and live in a tank as large as a football field.What are they? They’re the only two whale sharks at a North American aquarium .
You can see Ralph and Norton at the world’s largest aquarium, the new Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.
The aquarium’s giant tanks hold eight million gallons of water and will be home to about 100,000 fish!
The aquarium was designed to look like a giant ship breaking through the waves.It has 60 different habitats from the sea and five galleries (展馆), each with a different theme.About 2.4 million visitors are expected to come each year.“We want to be the world’s most engaging aquarium.” Said Jeff Swanagan, the aquarium’s executive director.
Ralph and Norton arrived in June, 2005 from Taiwan.They were only 15 and 13 feet long, but they may grow to be more than 40 feet long! Whale sharks are the world’s largest fish.Three full-time vets will work there to make sure that Ralph, Norton, and all of the aquarium’s sea life stay healthy.Students from the University of Georgia will help run the aquarium and conduct research at the animal hospital.
The aquarium was paid for almost completely by a $ 200 million gift from Bemie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot Inc, and his wife, Billi.“It’s going to be the most unique aquarium in the world,” said Marcus.Marcus said the aquarium was a “thank you” note to the city of Atlanta and the State of Georgia, where the Home Depot first opened for business.According to this passage, Ralph and Norton are ______.
| A．polar bears | B．penguins | C．whale sharks | D．dolphins |
The world’s largest aquarium is located in ____.
| A．Los Angeles | B．Atlanta | C．New York | D．Miami |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Marcus helped to build the aquarium to show his thanks to Atlanta. |
| B．The aquarium’s giant tanks can hold eighteen million gallons of water. |
| C．Ralph and Norton arrived in June, 2005 from Japan. |
| D．The aquarium was designed to look like a giant shark. |
By saying “We want to be the world’s most engaging aquarium” Jeff Swanagan means ___.
| A．the aquarium will be the largest habitat for sea life |
| B．the aquarium will be home to very special sea animals |
| C．the aquarium will be rebuilt and will be made even larger |
| D．the aquarium will attract a large number of visitors |
Research suggests that a newly-identified gene known as insomniacs(失眠症患者) may play a role in keeping us asleep. By cloning and testing this gene in about 21,000 fruit flies, Rockefeller University researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism (机制) by which sleep is controlled.
By studying these flies, the researchers discovered that mutations(变异) in the insomniac gene were associated with a great reduction in sleep. While a typical fruit fly slept for an average of 927 minutes a day, the mutant flies slept for just 317. They also slept for shorter periods of time, and slept and woke more frequently.
“The results showed a great loss of both the time that the flies’ sleep lasted and their ability to remain asleep after they slept,” says researcher Nicholas Stavropoulos.
The researchers also examined the link between sleep and lifespan, finding that flies with mutations to the insomniac gene lived only about two-thirds as long as unchanged flies. But when the scientists removed insomniac only in neurons（神经细胞）---allowing it to remain in the rest of the flies’ bodies---this difference disappeared; the resulting animals slept poorly but lived just as long.
“This suggests that reduced sleep can be ‘uncoupled’(分开) from reduced lifespan, supporting the idea that some interruptions of sleep do not affect overall health, at least as far as lifespan is concerned,” Stavropoulos says.
Although flies and humans would appear to have little in common when it comes to lifestyle, scientists say that the mechanisms of sleep and wakefulness are likely to be quite similar.
“Sleep is a fundamental behavior in all animals, and it is poorly understood from a scientific standpoint, says Stavropoulos. This work could prove useful in understanding and treating sleep disorders”The text is mainly about____.
| A．the progress in cloning fruit flies |
| B．the methods of cloning fruit flies |
| C．the link between gene and lifespan |
| D．the influence of a gene on the ability to sleep |
According to paragraph2, the mutant flies________.
| A．slept about 5 hours a day |
| B．had problems waking up |
| C．didn’t seem sleepy at all |
| D．could not fall asleep |
We can conclude from the text that________.
| A．sleep and health go hand in hand |
| B．sleep can be controlled by humans |
| C．research into sleep is very fruitful |
| D．the findings are useful in medical treatment |
War Horse is a historical story by Michael Morpurgo. It is written for kids ages 8 to 12. Now just sit and get through the introduction to the plot.
In 1914, a young horse named Joey is sold to a farmer. The farmer' s son, Albert, is thrilled. He cares for Joey. When the family begins to feel the financial impact of war, Albert' s father secretly sells Joey to an army officer named Captain Nicholls. Albert begs the captain to let him join the army. Albert is too young, but Nicholls promises to take good care of Joey for him.
Nicholls treats Joey well. Though Joey still remembers Albert, he grows to like his new master. He develops a friendship with another horse, Topthorn., who belongs to Nicholls' friend, Captain Stewart. The horses and men are shipped overseas for battle. They soon face their own battle in France, and Captain Nicholls is killed.
A young soldier named Warren becomes Joey’s new owner. Joey and Topthorn do well in battle, but the Germans capture Warren and Stewart and their horses. The horses' duty of pulling carts full of wounded German soldiers earns them praise. An old farmer and his granddaughter, Emilie, dote on the horses as well. When the German army moves out of the area, Emilie and her grandfather keep the two horses. Joey and Topthorn are content to work the farm until another band of soldiers takes them. They become workhorses under bad conditions. Joey is very upset when Topthorn dies of exhaustion.
Alone and frightened, Joey wanders into "no-man's-land” between the German and English camps. An English soldier takes him back to camp.
Joey is reunited with Albert. As the war ends, Albert' s officer announces the horses will be sold in France. An old Frenchman buys Joey. The man, Emilie' s grandfather, tells Albert how Emilie lost the will to live after the horses were taken. However, he eventually sells Joey to Albert for one penny, as long as Albert promises to share Emilie' s story so her life will not be in vain. Joey and Albert return home.Why does Albert's father secretly sell Joey?
| A．Because he’s in need of money. |
| B．Because Captain Nicholls is fond of Joey. |
| C．Because Albert is too young to care for Joey. |
| D．Because he believes Joey will contribute to the country. |
Which of the following is TRUE about Captain Nicholls?
| A．He’s a rich man. |
| B．He’s a Frenchman. |
| C．He’s a man of his word. |
| D．He doesn’t win Joey’s trust. |
The underlined phrase "dote on" in Paragraph 4 probably means ____.
| A．train | B．ride | C．raise | D．love |
Which of the following words can be used to describe Emilie’s grandfather?
| A．Brave. | B．Generous. | C．Hardworking. | D．Humorous. |
The Greenbelt, a wide belt of open land around the cities and towns of the San Francisco Bay Area, includes about 3.75 million of the Bay Area’s 4.5 million acres. The Bay Area Greenbelt is one of the largest areas of open land in any U.S. urban area. Open land is land that has few buildings and lots of natural areas. The Greenbelt’s open land includes parks, forests, beaches, and more than 8,500 farms.
What are the advantages of the Greenbelt?
The Greenbelt has many advantages for people in the Bay Area, which include:
lwalking and biking areas close to the cities and towns;
lplaces for wild plants and animals;
lcleaner air and water;
lincome from farms.
Is the Greenbelt in danger?
Five hundred seventy thousand acres of the Greenbelt are in danger. There are builders who want to build suburbs on them. If those acres become suburbs, many things will change:
lthe urban and suburban area will almost double;
lmany farms will disappear;
ltraffic will become worse;
lthe air will become dirtier.
What is Greenbelt Alliance (联盟)?
Greenbelt Alliance, an organization that saves land in the San Francisco Bay Area, works alone and with other groups to save the Greenbelt in four ways:
1. Try to persuade people to build new buildings on land that is already urban, not on open land.
2. Make sure that the city and town governments are all making plans to save the Greenbelt.
3. Help Bay Area towns and cities to buy pieces of open land to make into natural areas.
4. Teach people in the Bay Area why the Greenbelt is important and what they can do to help save it.What can we learn about the Greenbelt from the first paragraph?
| A．The Greenbelt is the largest open land in the United States. |
| B．The Greenbelt covers much more than half of the Bay Area. |
| C．There are few farms on the open land of the Greenbelt. |
| D．There are more than 8,500 natural areas on the Greenbelt. |
One of the advantages of the Greenbelt for people in the Bay Area is __________.
| A．convenience for exercise | B．income from sightseeing |
| C．cleaner city streets | D．more plants and animals |
The Greenbelt is in danger because __________.
| A．traffic is getting worse |
| B．some plans to build suburbs on it |
| C．the suburban area has doubled |
| D．pollution is becoming serious |
Which of the following is TRUE about Greenbelt Alliance?
| A．It builds new buildings on open land. |
| B．It buys large open land for the Bay Area. |
| C．It educates people how to save the Greenbelt. |
| D．It helps the city governments make plans. |
The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audience could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other forever. He sent his camera crew out one evening to film the sunset for him.
The next morning he said to the men, “Have you provided me with that sunset?”
“No, sir,” the men answered.
The director was angry. “Why not?” he asked.
“Well, sir,” one of the men answered, “we’re on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset.”
“But I want a sunset!” the director shouted. “Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one.”
But then a young secretary had an idea. “Why don’t you photograph a sunrise,” she suggested, “and then play it backwards? Then it’ll look like a sunset.”
“That’s a very good idea!” the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, “Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”
The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay. Then at nine o’clock they took it to the director. “Here it is, sir,” they said, and gave it to him. He was very pleased.
They all went into the studio. “All right,” the director explained, “now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the ‘sunset’ behind them.”
The “sunset” began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop.
The birds in the film were flying backwards, and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach.One evening, the director sent his camera crew out _________.
| A．to film a scene on the sea |
| B．to find an actor and an actress |
| C．to watch a beautiful sunset |
| D．to meet the audience |
Why did the director want to send his crew to the west coast?
| A．Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset. |
| B．Because he was angry with his crew. |
| C．Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset. |
| D．Because it was his secretary’s suggestion. |
The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because ______.
| A．it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine |
| B．when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening |
| C．it was more moving than a sunrise |
| D．the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The crew had to follow the secretary’s advice. |
| B．If you want to see a sunrise, the east coat is the place to go. |
| C．The camera crew wasn’t able to film the scene the first day. |
| D．The director ordered his crew to stop filming the “sunset”. |