Known as the "crazy nest lady", Katie Deline-Ray isn't quite sure how many mini handmade harbors she's knitted for injured baby animals. But she's certain it's a lot.
Deline-Ray is founder of Wildlife Rescue Nests. She designs and makes strong, soft nests, which she donates to wildlife rescue groups to use as little recovery nests for sick and injured animals. She also shares her patterns for others to copy.
Deline-Ray began making her nests in 2013, while she was recovering from a broken hand, and "spending too much time online."One thing led to another -- as happens on the internet -- and she discovered a woman who was making similar nests for U.S.-based wildlife groups, as an alternative to the hard boxes used to contain the animals these groups care for.
"I thought it was such a wonderful idea and went searching to see whether there was anything like it set up for our wildlife rescues in Canada," she says. "To my surprise there wasn’t. So I started contacting wildlife rescues and they agreed to try some out." Some modifications were made to already-existing patterns. And then, like a little bird taking its first flight, the nests went out into the world.
These days, Deline-Ray sends nests -- always for free -- to 60-some wildlife rescue groups, where injured birds and rabbits nestle inside the soft spaces while they are recovering.
Her future plans include making more nests, organizing new volunteer knitters and helping as many wildlife rescuers as possible take care of their animals in this charming way.
“I have no formal training with wildlife, just a great love for it.” Deline-Ray says. “I love making the nests because I have a great admiration for all the amazing work the wildlife rescues do. I feel like I have a part in giving back to wildlife in a small way.”
1.According to the passage, we can know Katie Deline-Ray ____.
A. admires what the wildlife rescues do
B. has designed the first nest pattern in the world
C. knits nests which are only intended for injured baby birds
D. keeps a record of the nests she has made over the years
2.What can we infer from the passage?
A. People must receive some training in order to help wildlife.
B. Katie Deline-Ray set up Wildlife Rescue Nests based in Canada.
C. Deline-Ray was once encouraged by an American woman.
D. The nests Deline-Ray made were sold all over the world.
3.What do you think of Katie Deline-Ray?
A. Modest. B. Caring. C. Cautious. D. Honest.
4.What can be the best title?
A. Useful Man-Made Nests.
B. A Wildlife Protection Program.
C.A Crazy Nest Lady
D. Birds Need More Rescue Nests.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
New data from NASA's Curiosity rover indicate Mars Crater once held an enormous lake. This discovery suggests that the red planet may have been much wetter than scientists thought and raises the possibility that the planet was once habitable.
“The size of the lake and the length of time and series that water was showing up implies that there may have been sufficient time for life to develop.” NASA's Mars Exploration Program scientist Dr. Michael Meyer told Reuters.
Curiosity collected the new data on its five-mile drive to Mount Sharp, the prime destination on its mission to study Mars' climate and geography. The rover landed in Gale Crater in August 2012.
After reaching Mount Sharp in September, the rover spent two months studying rocks at the base of the three-mile-high mountain, discovering fine layers of mudstone--which tend to collect at the bottom of lakes. This shows how a mountain inside a Mars' Gale Crater might have formed.
“If our assumption for Mount Sharp holds up, it challenges the idea that warm and wet conditions were passing, local, or only underground on Mars,” Dr. Ashwin Vasavada said in a written statement. “A more radical explanation is that Mars' ancient, thicker atmosphere raised temperatures above freezing globally, but so far we don't know how the atmosphere did that.”
Vasavada said Curiosity will continue to study changes in the rock formation as it climbs Mount Sharp in the next few months, which should test the team's hypothesis.
“We'll also look at the chemistry of the rocks to see if the water that was once present would've been of the kind that could support microbial life, if it ever was present,” he said in a video released by NASA. “With only 30 vertical feet of the mountain behind us, we're sure there's a lot more to discover.”
1.What does this text mainly talk about?
A. How scientists explored Mars.
B. The ways Curiosity used to explore Mount Sharp.
C. Some data about Gale Crater.
D. The discovery of Curiosity rover on Mars.
2.The discovery of the lake proves that _____.
A. early Mars was ripe and ready for life
B. the climate on early Mars was hot
C. life once existed on Mars
D. humans can live on Mars
3. What is the height of Mount Sharp?
A. 5 miles B. 30 miles C. 3 miles D. 22miles
4.Where does this text probably come from?
A. A science fiction. B. A science report.
C. An environment report. D. An official announcement.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I went to Arizona earlier this month to see what the college of the future might look like. What I found is an exciting new era of higher education that will help more students get a great, personalized education at an affordable price.
This future may not always include the lecture halls, dormitories, and other features of the traditional college experience. Instead, the colleges I visited are experimenting with ways for students to get their degrees online, allowing them to take courses any place and at any time.
These “colleges without walls,” as they are sometimes called, are at the forefront of the effort to broaden access to higher education, especially for low-income students with full-time jobs and families. During my visit, I heard encouraging stories of students who were taking advantage of these flexible learning models to pursue degrees that could put them on paths to new careers.
One of those students was Shawn Lee. He had a compelling story: After dropping out of college decades ago, he found himself in a series of low-paying, often back-breaking jobs. He recently decided to get his degree when he had his first child and wanted to start building a better life.
Tucked away in an industrial park in Tempe, Rio Salado didn’t look much like a traditional institute of higher education. There were no students running to class. Just a couple of glass-faced office buildings. The college had just 22 full-time faculty serving 60,000 students, with more than half of them attending classes online.
Several students I met during my visit said they liked learning online. “I’ve taken college classes in a big auditorium with herds of people. There was no personal connection,” one student said. “Now I can reach my teacher with the click of a mouse.”
After several days’ visit, I left Arizona feeling quite optimistic about what the future holds for higher education.
1.What does “colleges without walls” in the third paragraph refer to?
A. Colleges that have no walls around.
B. Colleges that students attend online.
C. Colleges that can be entered freely.
D. Colleges that give students more freedom.
2.What made Shawn Lee return to attend college again?
A. That he has nothing to do.
B. That he couldn’t find a job.
C. That the cost of the college is low.
D. That he wanted to find a better job.
3.How did the writer feel after the visit?
A. Hopeful. B. Dissatisfied. C. Disappointed. D. Upset.
4.What is the writer’s purpose by writing this passage?
A. To explain what “colleges without walls” are.
B. To advertise the colleges.
C. To encourage people to attend higher education.
D. To introduce a new model of education.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Regrowth Poetry Competition is open to all published and unpublished, UK and non-UK based male and female writers over 16 years of age. This competition is open to poetry submissions. Poems must be based around the theme of “regrowth, birth, survival, and new life” and in any genre. The poem should be between 5 and 30 lines in length (including title).
Entry details, rules and regulations to the competition are listed below:
1. All entries must be sent using the form online.
2. Entry will cost £4.00. You can pay online via PayPal or credit card. You can also pay by cheque, making it payable to Susan Cawte. The postal address is 412 Thorold Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 4HF. Multiple entries are allowed.
3. Entries will not be returned.
4. All entries submitted must be work which has not been published elsewhere or submitted to another competition which is currently still open.
5. All entries must be your own work. Any entry found to be plagiarized or printed elsewhere will be disqualified.
6. All entries submitted must clearly state the author's name, address, email address and contact telephone number on the submission.
7. The winner will be notified within one month of the closing date.
8. The closing date for entries is midnight (BST) 30th April 2016.
Prizes:
1st: £50, published story in the magazine, and a feature article about the winning author.
2nd: £25, story published in the magazine.
The 20 shortlisted authors will be listed online in May. Winners will be announced on 1st June 2016.
1.What should be the theme of the poems in the competition?
A. Peace. B. Friendship.
C. Regrowth. D. Health.
2.If you want to take part in the competition, ____.
A. you can only submit one entry
B. you must be a British boy of 16
C. you have to pay the entry fee by cheque
D. you must send the entries before 30th April 2016
3.What is the probably meaning of the underlined word “plagiarized”?
A. Written. B. Copied. C. Typed. D. Read.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Life getting you down? Learn to bounce back
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger” Nietzsche said. There are a number of ways that can get us through tough times, help us to bounce back and make us happier. ____1.____
Find something you can control
___2.___ But taking small, positive steps in any area of our life can have a ripple effect, enabling us to move forward in the problem area.
____3.____
As a species, we tend to focus on what’s wrong rather than what’s right. But we can benefit a lot from paying attention to what’s going right. Psychologists have shown consciously focusing on these good things helps to increase our experience of positive emotions.
Check your thinking
___4.___ Leading psychologist Martin Seligman found that the way we interpret the causes of everyday setbacks can have a significant impact on our ability to cope and our physical health. He also showed we can learn more resilient thinking styles.
Distract yourself
When we are immersed in a problem, it is hard to think creatively about ways to deal with it. It often helps to take time out from the things you are worrying about. ____5.___ Not only does this give us a break from what we’re doing and our worries; it’s also great for our minds.
A. Always do something that is right.
B. It’s true that there are lots of things we can’t control.
C. An effective ways of taking time out is exercise.
D. Next time you are feeling stressed or stuck, give them a try.
E. Focus on what’s right
F. Next time something goes wrong for you, pause for a moment
G. The way we think can destroy our own resilience(弹力).
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
完形填空
阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Every Friday I went to a senior nursing home which was the lowest rating – one star out of five. It seemed as if it needed ________ , but little did I know it would help me too.
During my first visit I helped to polish some female residents’ ________. One woman asked me many questions. After she was satisfied with my ________ , she started to share some of her hidden ________ . By listening to her, I realized I had actually helped her: she looked relieved, ________ of some of her past pains.
When she was finished, she told me something that ________ me to visit the nursing home every week. She said, “You’re the ________ person I was able to tell this to. The other ladies are too busy to listen to me, and the other ________ don’t care. You’ll come back next week, right?” After ________ blowing on her newly coated nails, I smiled and ________ , “Yes, I’ll see you next Friday.”
That day, I was gladdened by the ________ that I had helped somebody. I realized an action as simple as ________ became something much more.
During every second I spent there, I realized how much of a difference my ________ could have on the lives of others, and I also found energy in a place not ________ known for it.
But the most ________ aspect of living there is that it breaks the human ________ between those in today’s society and the nursing home residents.
Every moment I spend chatting is an opportunity to ________ that connection again, to unwrap their troubles, and to shape someone’s life. In ________, that moment also shapes me. I not only learn about life and experiences outside of school, but also receive the ________ of being part of this process – this connection between humans. Those ________ of sharing and listening are magical for both the giver and the receiver.
1.A. care B. help C. money D. repair
2.A. bags B. coats C. nails D. shoes
3.A. answers B. performances C. appearance D. behaviors
4.A. secrets B. truths C. facts D. hurt
5.A. uninformed B. unburdened C. unsure D. unaware
6.A. inspired B. invited C. allowed D. persuaded
7.A. right B. last C. very D. only
8.A. nurses B. females C. residents D. volunteers
9.A. gently B. hurriedly C. simply D. comfortably
10.A. admitted B. promised C. shouted D. declared
11.A. belief B. truth C. courage D. fact
12.A. polishing B. sharing C. listening D. talking
13.A. actions B. dreams C. measures D. hopes
14.A. rarely B. typically C. actually D. entirely
15.A. interesting B. conflicting C. surprising D. troubling
16.A. memory B. personality C. connection D. custom
17.A. tie B. find C. continue D. break
18.A. sum B. turn C. all D. general
19.A. welcome B. message C. invitation D. gift
20.A. thoughts B. occasions C. moments D. activities
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Mary: Paul, do you like 1. (play) computer games?
Paul: Yes, I do. It’s my hobby. My mother is worried about me sometimes 2. I’ve always been playing computer games 3. I was little. I love them. I’d like 4. (create) computer games one day.
Mary: What do you think is 5. (good) game?
Paul: My favorite games are two. The first game is a role playing game. You can be any characters you like such as a farmer, a knight and a hunter. You can discover things, fight battles, solve lots of puzzles and find out lots of secrets. That’s 6. I like.
Mary: Is the setting now 7. the future or the ancient?
Paul: The setting is a fantasy world. That’s one of the nice things about computer 8. (game) — you can escape the real world. The second game is a city building game. You can be a mayor of the city and you have to build up your city over hundreds of years and develop 9. . It’s almost like playing dolls houses, but much more 10. (advance). It’s always fun.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Dear Mary,
I’m glad to hear of you. Learning that you had developed a deep interest in Tang poems, I feel happiness and proud and I’d like to give you a brief introduction to them.
In China, Tang poems are popular with the people of all ages. The Tang dynasty is common recognized as the golden age of poetry. During this period, a lot of excellent poems was written. Tang poems are easy to read but recite. Some of them have translated into many foreign languages.
Now that you are interesting in Tang poems, I will send you the collection of Tang poems by post. I hope you will love it.
Best wishes!
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
书面表达
假设你是李华，你的笔友Peter给你发来一封电子邮件，信中讲述他和同学发生了冲突，心情很不好。请你写一封邮件对他进行劝告。内容必须包含以下三个方面：
1. 介绍和同学产生冲突的不良影响。
2. 分析发生冲突的主要原因。
3. 谈谈应如何处理好同学们之间的关系。
注意：1. 词数：100词左右；
2．文章的开头结尾已经给出，不计入总词数；
3．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Peter,
I have received your e-mail saying that you conflicted with your classmate and is in a bad
mood._______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
I do hope my suggestions can be of help to you.
Yours,
难度: 中等查看答案及解析