It has long been thought that elephants rely on their large ears and bathing in rivers to stay cool in hot climates. New research，however，has showed that the world's largest land animals have a secret trick of controlling their body temperatures.
Scientists have long been puzzled by temperature regulation(调节)in elephants. Generally，animals with large bodies tend to hold more heat because，compared to their size，they have a small surface area for heat to escape from. Elephants，with their heavyweight frames，would appear to be at a disadvantage in the heat of their African and Asian habitats，especially because they have thick fur to protect them from bushes and trees.
Scientists thought that these creatures，which weigh up to 13 tons when fullygrown，grow large ears to help them stay cool. The skin on the ears is thinner，so blood which flows into them cools down more easily. But findings by researchers at two universities in Vienna have showed that elephants are also able to cool down by increasing the blood flow to skin patches(斑) in other parts of their bodies.
The researchers studied six African elephants at Vienna Zoo as they moved between outdoor and indoor environments to see how the temperature on their skin surface would change. They found up to 15 “hot spots” all over an elephant's body surface，in addition to large patches on the ears. The study shows how these patches expand as the air temperature increases and more blood flows nearer to the skin surface. Other experiments show that elephants in the wild use the same “windows” to control their body temperature.
Elephants have two additional ways to stay cool: flapping(拍打)the ears and bathing. Together with these tricks，the skin hot spots allow the animals to keep their body temperature always at about 36 degrees—one degree less than humans'.
1.What can we know about the elephants?
A. They have thick fur to protect them.
B. They live in cool areas in Africa and Asia.
C. They can weigh up to 3 tons when fullygrown.
D. They are afraid of water and rivers.
2.The function of the thinner skin on elephants' ears is to________.
A. control their body temperature B. help hold more heat
C. drive away insects D. keep sensitive hearing
3.The new research________.
A. studied six Asian elephants
B. studied elephants in a zoo and in the wild
C. aimed to discover the elephants' disadvantages
D. proved that scientists' earlier beliefs were totally true
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Kids are natural scientists. That may be why they ask so many questions.
Younger kids take up science and math with amazing enthusiasm，yet as they get older they often lose their excitement. Children look on scientific exploration as play，but as they get older they start to connect it with big heavy books，long worksheets and a lot of really confusing words.
What a tragedy！We had their attention，they were listening，they were participating，they were learning and then we lost it to boredom.
We need our kids to play more. More play brings up basic scientific concepts(概念)．Being familiar with basic scientific concepts brings about exploration which leads to research. Once they are researching，they are completely into the learning.
My boys built a small 9hole golf course next to our driveway one day. It was a great product of science. They dug out the holes and channels to guide the golf ball. They played with architecture(建筑学)with a series of pipes they had found in the garage. They tested speed and momentum(动量)by creating one of the holes across the driveway. They experienced biology when deciding which front yard plants could be used as a part of the course and which needed to be pulled up.
If I had sent them out to the yard to build a 9hole golf course，it would have never happened. It was because it was their idea that it worked. I try to tell them some of the concepts after the fact. When they ask about something，I try to relate it back to something they have built，experienced，or felt. I try to give them a vocabulary around what they already know.
An afternoon can change the way kids look at the world. Not bad for a day of play.
1.What can we learn about kids' attitudes towards science from the first three paragraphs?
A. Kids think they are born to work as scientists.
B. Younger kids begin to learn science on purpose.
C. Older kids often link science with boring things.
D. Children's taking an interest in science is a tragedy.
2.By building the small golf course，the writer's boys learnt about all of the following things EXCEPT________.
A. speed B. momentum
C. biology D. agriculture
3.If the writer had forced the boys to build a small golf course，they might have _______.
A. asked her some related scientific concepts
B. made a better golf course than the one they had built
C. asked their friends to help them with the work
D. got bored and refused to follow the writer's directions
4.In which part of a newspaper is the article probably included?
A. Architecture. B. Education.
C. Health. D. Sports.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Not all think laughter is the best medicine, but it seems to help. So scientists carried on a new study of diabetes (糖尿病) patients who were given a good dose of humor for a year to prove it.
Researchers divided 20 highrisk diabetic patients into two groups. Both groups were given standard diabetes medicine. Group L viewed 30 minutes of humor of their choice，while Group C，the control group，did not. This went on for a year of treatments.
By two months into the study，the patients in the laughter group had lower level of the hormones epinephrine (肾上腺素)，considered to cause stress，which is known to be deadly. After the 12 months，HDL cholesterol rises 26 percent in Group L but only 3 percent in Group C．In another measure，Creactive proteins，a maker of heart disease，drop 66 percent in the laughter group but only 26 percent in the control group.
“The best doctors believe that there is a physical good brought about by the positive emotion，happy laughter，”said study leader Lee Berk of Loma Linda University. And other research has found that humor makes us more hopeful. Still，more study is needed，Berk said. The research by Berk found that humor can bring about similar changes in body chemistry，which was proved in the new study. The research result will be presented this month at the meeting in the US. Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand，increasing blood flow in a way thought to be healthy.
“Lifestyle choices have an important effect on health and these are choices which we and patients should pay attention to，rather than prevention and treatment,”Berk said in a statement this week.
1.Why did the scientists carry on the new research?
A. To find out if laughter was good to health.
B. To discover the best medicine to cure diabetes.
C. Because the number of diabetic patients is the largest in the world.
D. Because diabetic patients need more laughter than other patients.
2.After 12 months into the study，________.
A. Creactive proteins increase 66 percent in Group C
B. the level of the hormones epinephrine stays the same in both groups
C. the level of the hormones epinephrine has dropped
D. Creactive proteins reduced 66 percent in Group L
3.The underlined part “HDL cholesterol” in Paragraph 3 must be ______.
A. something bad to our health B. something good to our health
C. a kind of wonderful medicine D. a kind of dangerous disease
4.In what way does laughter benefit people’s health?
A. Blood is made thick by laughter.
B. Laughter makes blood vessels thin.
C. Laughter increases blood pressure.
D. Laughter makes blood flow fast.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
English is one of the most difficult languages to master. Even if you might not yet sound like someone born and raised speaking the language, you should still congratulate yourself on how far you’ve come. Remember that practice makes perfect. So keep working at it and your skill level will certainly improve.
Create an English environment for yourself.1.The more you hear the language, the better you’ll understand how and when to use common words and phrases and how the language is pronounced.
Practise speaking English every chance you get, whether at school, at work or speaking to family and friends. When you speak in your native language, ask yourself, “How would I say that in English?”
Watch yourself speak English in the mirror.2.And practise changing anything you don’t like. If you’re uncomfortable making up things to say to yourself, just read your lessons aloud.
Use confident body language while you speak English. Even if you’re having trouble pronouncing words or remembering phrases, don’t keep your head down. Speak in a natural, conversational tone(语气); keep your back and head straight, and your chin(下巴) up. If you’re in a relaxed setting, put your hands behind your head and put your feet up.3.
Find a language friend who speaks fluent English and wants to learn your language.4.Increase your confidence by knowing you have something valuable to teach, as well as something to learn.
5.Instead of saying “I’m no good at this,” say “Every day I’m getting better.”
A. Take turns teaching each other
B. Train your body into feeling in control
C. Speak confidently about your English ability
D. Learning a language requires long hours of study and practice
E. Get comfortable with the way you look speaking the language
F. Read books, watch television shows, movies and plays in English
G. Improve your confidence by teaching those worse at English than you
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Douglas was my cousin. I first met him when he came to stay with my family for a ________, because his parents were going to teach in Africa.
He and his family _______ all the way on the other side of the country, so we had never had a chance to visit. ________, when we arrived at the airport, it was not hard to find which person was my ________. He was the one standing all alone, looking around for someone to _______ him. He looked a little scared to meet us, ________ started to smile shyly after my mom hugged (拥抱) him.
When we got back home and Douglas ________ putting his things away, I could not believe it. All of his _______ were the same, all white shirts and dark blue shorts. He ________ had a dark blue jacket with a tie!
“How come you ________ only one kind of clothes?” I asked him.
“That's the way my school has ________ been,” he said. “We have to wear uniforms.”
“I would hate having to wear the ________ thing every day,” I said.
“I don't _______,” Douglas said. “It ________ time. I don't have to think about what I am going to wear.”
“Well, we don't wear uniforms at our ________. You're going to look pretty ________ if you come to school in a jacket and tie.”
Douglas looked worried. ________, I felt bad. I had not meant to _______ his feelings. After all, it was not easy to come all this way to live with some _______ family for a year. Then and there I decided that I was going to ________ my cousin and try to make this as good a year as possible for him.
1.A. day B. week C. month D. year
2.A. worked B. lived C. traveled D. studied
3.A. However B. Instead C. Besides D. Therefore
4.A. parent B. cousin C. uncle D. friend
5.A. ask B. teach C. help D. meet
6.A. so B. but C. or D. and
7.A. started B. stopped C. finished D. continued
8.A. bags B. pictures C. books D. clothes
9.A. also B. again C. still D. even
10.A. make B. hate C. wear D. sell
11.A. sometimes B. never C. always D. seldom
12.A. right B. same C. only D. old
13.A. know B. use C. mind D. remember
14.A. costs B. saves C. wastes D. counts
15.A. airport B. country C. home D. school
16.A. brave B. funny C. smart D. handsome
17.A. Really B. Luckily C. Suddenly D. Secretly
18.A. share B. enjoy C. hurt D. understand
19.A. difficult B. special C. big D. strange
20.A. look at B. look for C. look after D. look up
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（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
The first foreign language I studied was French, and I learnt it at a secondary school between the ages of 11 and 18. It was a compulsory subject for the first three years and I 1. (choose) to continue studying it afterwards because I enjoyed it, found it 2. (interest) and was quite good at it. Outside class I practiced 3. (listen) to the French language radio and reading French books.
Before going to university, I spent three months working on 4. farm in southern France. This helped me become pretty fluent5. French and acquire a rich farming-related vocabulary.
My French has also been 6. (help) on holiday on Morocco and Portugal. French 7. (use) as a second language in Morocco and in other countries quite a few people speak French in places 8. a lot of tourists visit.
In September 2009 I joined a couple of French conversation 9. (group) in Bangor and I have been going to them ever since. It has resulted in my 10. (improve) in my spoken French.
Now I can still speak French fluently and can also read it well, but my written French is not so good.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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。
I am interested at swimming very much. At first, I went swimming just to keep health. Now my dream was to swim for my country in the Olympics. Though practicing in the pool is very bored, but I still work very hard in order to realize my dream. Because my hard work, I have already come first in much important competitions. In the competitions, I’ve made lot of friends and we’re very close. It’s much easier to have friends which are swimmers because they also have to get up early to practice like you and they understand this kind of life.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
一家英语报社向中学生征文，主题是“我理想的高中生活”，请根据下列要求和你的畅想完成短文。
1.在校学习情况；
2.老师与同学；
3.学校活动。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.司以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
I often imagine what my life will be like in my dream high school.
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析