Thousands of hungry birds left the countryside of Britain in the bitter winter to find food and warmth in urban gardens. The move included species such as the redwing and the fieldfare, almost unknown outside rural areas
The hard situation of farmland birds has been revealed in the latest survey of bird populations from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds released today.
The redwing has an obvious stripe over the eye and a red flash on the flanks (侧翼), while the fieldfare has a grey head, a peach underbelly, and a distinctive dark band on the tail.
Graham Madge, the society's spokesman, says, “For many urban birdwatchers the sight of these striking species is a real treat. Many people have never imagined there being such an amazing chance.”
“Frozen ground prevented them from getting food in the countryside and they have been saved from starvation in towns，” he added.
He says the unusual sight this year somewhat tempered the frustration felt at the suffering of small garden birds such as robins and wrens. These birds are sensitive to cold and must eat almost continuously to stay alive. Data from people who took part in the society's Big Garden Birdwatch recorded sightings in 280，000 gardens during the last weekend of January, with the goldcrest down 75 percent, the longtailed tit down 27 percent, and the coal tit down 20 percent. The study highlighted the need for food to be left out for birds during winter.
The redwing and the fieldfare are relatively unknown outside the eastern part of the country. The research shows, however, that they moved to the other side of the country where the climate is generally mild in winter and that many for the first time have reached Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. The number of redwing sightings was up 185 percent, those of the fieldfare 73, and of the yellowhammer 68.
Another surprise garden “guest” this year was the blackcap. This robinsized, silvergrey bird was rare in Britain 50 years ago, but increasing numbers now arrive each year from Germany and Austria.
How did the urban birdwatchers probably feel when seeing the hungry birds?
| A．Excited. | B．Worried. |
| C．Annoyed. | D．Motivated. |
Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “tempered”？
| A．Prevented. | B．Relieved. |
| C．Explained. | D．Increased. |
According to the passage, Cornwall is perhaps ________．
| A．a village in eastern Britain |
| B．a city in western Britain |
| C．a village in western Britain |
| D．a city in eastern Britain |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The tough living conditions of some British birds. |
| B．The various species of Britain's garden birds. |
| C．The changes of some bird's population in Britain. |
| D．Unusual bird visitors in Britain's urban gardens. |
Due to climate change, Arctic ice is breaking up earlier in the spring, and its area is decreasing. This is creating problems for polar bears that make their homes off northern Alaska and in Hudson Bay.
Polar bears off Alaska normally hunt and raise their young on ice sheets that float on the ocean. But as the ice has melted, the polar bears have been forced to spend more time on land. There, they have begun to frequent beaches, feeding on the remains of whales caught by native hunters. For polar bears, this food is less nutritious than seals that they normally catch on ice sheets. The shrinking（减少） ice has also forced more polar bears into the ocean. In the past, they only had to swim short distances between ice sheets. But as the ice has shrunk, polar bears have been forced to swim longer and longer distances in the open ocean. This poses a severe danger during rough weather, and an increasing number of drowned polar bears have been observed.
In Hudson Bay, the ice breaks up three weeks earlier in the spring now than it did 20 years ago. Polar bears on Hudson Bay fast（绝食） during the summer, waiting for ice to form in the fall to hunt. Every year, the summer gets longer, and the bears get skinnier. Over the past 25 years, the average weight of the female bears has dropped 68 kg. This loss affects their ability to reproduce, and already the number of births has dropped 15 percent. Unless the bears can learn to survive these climate changes, these giants of the ice may one day disappear.What is Arctic ice doing earlier each year?
| A．It’s freezing. | B．It’s hardening. |
| C．It’s melting. | D．It’s expanding. |
What is true of polar bears that are spending more time on land in Alaska?
| A．Their young are dying. |
| B．Their diet is changing. |
| C．Their health is improving. |
| D．Their families are growing. |
What do polar bears in Hudson Bay do during the summer?
| A．They claim territory(地域). | B．They protect mates. |
| C．They hunt animals. | D．They stop feeding |
In which publication would you most likely find this passage?
| A．Medical News | B．Society Today | C．Wildlife Journal | D．Design Magazine |
Donald had his own difficulties in sleeping that night. Not just because of the bright lights of the shelter or people’s constant voices, it was the happening repeatedly nightmare that caused him to stay awake, to fear sleep. Donald was back in his small house. He did his best to ignore the howling winds outside his window. Yet he could not turn out the fearful whimpers (呜咽) of his little dog, or the uncomfortable sounds of his mother anxious in her room next door, unable to sleep through the storm despite her insistence they would be all right.
Donald did not want his mother to be upset, but on some level, he was glad to hear she was awake, It meant he was not alone in the dark. Though he was 12, until recently it was impossible for Donald to fall asleep unless his mother lay down by his side.
Suddenly there was a crash. Their living room window is shattered (打碎) by 125 miles an hour winds. Troy rushed to Donald and sat anxiously on the edge of his bed. He did his best to calm his mother, and she had to comfort him. Soon water was seeping (渗入) into the single floor house. Quickly it rose from ankle level to leg level. At Donald’s insistence, they pushed their way through the water --- now chest high --- toward the front door. When they fought their way into the living room, water rose to their chins.
It was a struggle for the boy and mother to stay afloat. In a total panic, desperate to hold on to something, Troy caught a curtain rod. She was breathing hard, shouting that she couldn’t swim.
Donald cried out, “Mom! Hold on!” Just then Donald also caught a floatable wood board.The passage is mainly about _____.
| A．how a storm happened and caused damage |
| B．how a mother and son experienced a storm |
| C．how a mother and son survived a storm |
| D．how a son helped his mother in a storm |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the story?
| A．The rising water. | B．The broken window. |
| C．The lucky dog. | D．The noisy environment. |
Which phrase can describe Troy’s feelings at the beginning of the storm most suitably?
| A．In excitement. | B．In calm. | C．In anxiety. | D．In despair. |
What will the author most probably talk about next?
| A．How the other people struggled in the storm. |
| B．Why the rainstorm happened. |
| C．What damage the rainstorm caused. |
| D．How Donald and Troy struggled to save themselves |
Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum (论坛) asking what "PK" meant. "My family has been watching the 'Super Girl' singing competition TV program . My little daughter asked me what 'PK' meant, but I had no idea," explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, "PK" is short for "Player Kill", in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the "Super Girl" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking.
Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students' compositions using Internet jargons (行话) which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn't understand.
"My 'GG' came back this summer from college. He told me I've grown up to be a 'PLMM'. I loved to 'FB' with him together; he always took me to the 'KPM'," went one composition.
"GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). "PLMM" refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl). "FB" means Fu Bai (corruption). "KPM" is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.
If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao! By writing the article, the writer tries to ________ .
| A．explain some Internet language |
| B．suggest common Internet language |
| C．laugh at the Beijing father |
| D．draw our attention to Internet language |
What does the writer think about the term "PK"?
| A．Fathers can't possibly know it. |
| B．The daughter should understand it. |
| C．Online game players may know it. |
| D．"Super Girl" shouldn't have used it. |
The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons________ .
| A．are used not only online |
| B．can be understood very well |
| C．are welcomed by all the people |
| D．cause trouble to our mother tongue |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A puzzled father |
| B．Do you speak Internet-ish? |
| C．Keep away from Internet-ish |
| D．Kong Long or Qing Wa? |
Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.
In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all whether rich or poor, clever or stupid - one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough; we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degree；they refuse to do what they think "low" work; and, in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our towns…
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one's work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.The writer of the passage thinks that _______.
| A．education can settle most of the world's problems |
| B．free education for all probably leads to a perfect world |
| C．free education won't help to solve problems |
| D．all the social problems can't be solved by education |
The writer wants to prove that _______.
| A．our society needs all kinds of jobs |
| B．our society needs free education for all |
| C．a farmer is more important than a professor |
| D．work with hands is the most important |
The purpose of education is _______.
| A．to choose officials for the country |
| B．to prepare children mainly for their future work |
| C．to let everyone receive education fit for him |
| D．to build a perfect world |
The passage tells us about _______ of the education.
| A．the means | B．the system | C．the value | D．the type |
If your preschoolers turn up their noses at carrots or celery, a small reward like a sticker for taking even a taste may help get them to eat previously disliked foods, a UK study said.
Though it might seem obvious that a reward could encourage young children to eat their vegetables, the idea is actually controversial, researchers wrote in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. That’s because some studies have shown that rewards can backfire and cause children to lose interest in foods they already liked, said Jane Wardle, a researcher at University College London who worked on the study. Verbal praise, such as “Brilliant! You’re a great vegetable taster,” did not work as well.
The study found t hat when parents gave their small children a sticker each time they took a “tiny taste” of a disliked vegetable, it gradually changed their attitudes. The children were also willing to eat more of the vegetables-either carrots, celery, cucumber, red pepper, cabbage or sugar snap peas-in laboratory taste tests, the study said.
Researchers randomly assigned（分派）173 families to one of these groups. In one, parents used stickers to reward their children each time they took a tiny sample of a disliked vegetable. A second group of parents used verbal praise. The third group, where parents used no special vegetable-promoting methods, served as a “control”.
Parents in the reward groups offered their children a taste of the “target” vegetable every day of 12 days, Soon after, children in the sticker group were giving higher ratings to the vegetables-and were willing to eat more in the research lab, going from an average of 5 grams at the start to about 10 grams after the 12-day experience. The turnaround also seemed to last, with preschoolers in the sticker group still willing to eat more of the once disliked vegetable three months later.
Why didn’t the verbal praise work? Wardle said the parents’ words may have seemed “insincere” to their children.The purpose of writing the passage is.
| A．to introduce a practical method of making children eat vegetables |
| B．to show the procedure of an experiment on children’s diet |
| C．to explain why children hate to eat vegetables |
| D．to present a proper way of vernal praise to parents |
The underlined word “backfire” in Paragraph 2 probably means “”.
| A．shoot from behind the back |
| B．make a lire in the hackyard |
| C．produce an unexpected result |
| D．achieve what was planned |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Most children are born to dislike carrots or celery. |
| B．It remains a question whether rewarding is a good way to get children to eat vegetables. |
| C．Oral praise wokrs quite well in encouraging children to eat vegetables. |
| D．Children in the sticker group will never lose interest in eating vegetables. |
How did the researchers get their conclusion from the experiment?
| A．By comparison. | B．By asking questions. |
| C．By giving examples, | D．By discussion. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Children like rewards, not verbal praise. |
| B．Parents should praise their children in a sincere tone. |
| C．Children are difficult to inspire. |
| D．Parents should give up verbal praise. |