Jeremy looked across the hot, grassy plain South Africa was a long way from the cool, green countryside of his hometown in Oregon.
“Ready?” Dad asked.
“Yes,” Jeremy answered. They climbed into the old truck. Jeremy seldom spent time with his father, a famous wildlife photographer. The work seemed mostly hot and boring.
As the truck ran across the rough dirt, Dad chatted with their guides, Mkhulu and Bheki. They spoke Zulu, which Jeremy couldn’t understand, though they also spoke English. He watched for animals. “There!” he shouted, pointing. Mkhulu slowed the truck. Jeremy realized he had been pointing at a rock.
As the truck jumped up and down over a ditch, there was a big crash. “Wait!” Jeremy shouted. The door had fallen off. Bheki threw the door into the back of the truck. “Now we can see better,” Dad laughed.
They stopped near a watering hole. Mkhulu said he was friends with the elephants that sometimes gathered here. Maybe they’d see some.
Before long, Jeremy felt vibrations. Elephants! A small group walked towards the water. Dad jumped out of the truck and focused his camera on the largest elephant.
Jeremy spotted a very young elephant walking between two adults. It was tiny, by elephant standards. The two elephants beside the baby kept stopping to wait for it. Jeremy watched as they neared the water. Several larger elephants Jumped in the water.
Jeremy lost sight of the baby. Where was it? Then he saw. It was in water up to its eyes. Its mouth was underwater. It held it its trunk up above the water. The baby was in trouble. “Look!” said Jeremy. The bank was too steep for the baby. It couldn’t climb out of the water. Other elephants tried pushing it, without success.
Jeremy took the loose door from the back of the truck. Mkhulu saw what Jeremy was planning and ran to help. Together they dragged the door down to the water’s edge, Mkhulu calmed the mother elephant, gently explaining that they were bringing a ramp for the baby.
The mother knew Mkhulu and trusted him. She seemed to sense that they meant to help. Jeremy pushed the door onto the bank, angling it so the baby could walk up it to safety. The baby stepped onto the door. Its mother pushed. Three more steps, and they were up. The elephants gathered around the baby, touching it with their trunks.
“Boy, Jeremy,” Dad said. “That is one of the most exciting photo shoots I’ve ever done! I’m glad you came along.”
1.From the story, we know ________.
A.Jeremy had a very strong liking for nature
B.Jeremy’s father loved taking pictures of wild animals
C.Jeremy made a ramp for the baby elephant by himself
D.Jeremy and his father were in the green countryside of Oregon.
2.What was the main problem in the story?
A.The door fell off the truck.
B.Jeremy mistook a rock for a wild animal.
C.The baby elephant got stuck in the water.
D.Jeremy found his father’s work hot and boring.
3.According to the passage, how was the baby elephant saved?
A.Jeremy helped save it by making a ramp.
B.Mkhulu dived into the water and rescued it.
C.The mother elephant pushed it out of the water.
D.Mkhulu helped Jeremy put the door into the back of the truck.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
There are more species of beetles than any other form of life. About 380 000 species of beetles are known to exist, and more are discovered all the time. There are several theories about why there are so many beetles, but fossils evidence shows that beetle species die out less than other animals, Beetle species exist in such huge number because beetles are true survivors. They refuse to die out.
One of the reasons beetles survive so well is their body design. Most beetle species have two pairs of wings. The front pair of a beetle’s wings are hard and thick. They are not used for flying. These protect the back set of wings and the beetle’s stomach. Instead, some species of beetles have lost the ability to fly, but they are still equipped with front wings. The wings protect the beetle’s soft parts from harm. These features help protect beetles, which makes them less likely to die out if they are faced with new predators (捕食性动物).
Beetles can also eat a wide range of foods. Beetle species live all over the world, and they have many different types of food available to them. Most beetles are omnivores. That means they eat both plants and animals. Their mixed diets help beetles adapt to many different habitats. Over the course of time, food sources, like certain plants and animals, do not exist anymore. Others spring up. The beetle survives because it can find something to eat, no matter what.
Finally, beetles are good at moving quickly over long distance. Any change in an animal’s environment can be dangerous to it. For example, many species died out during the Ice Age, when Earth’s temperature dropped for a long time. However, some species can avoid dangerous environment changes by moving to a new place. Research shows that beetles respond quickly to shifts in temperature. They can move to safer environments.
Beetles’ bodies and habits help give them an edge over other creatures. They are unlikely to die out. As a result, beetles make up nearly one quarter of all animal species. There are more types of beetles on Earth than there are types of plants. Some types of beetles that exist today were around during the Permian period of history, 284 million years ago. Beetles, clearly, are here to stay.
1.What is important about a beetle’s front wings?
A.They are used to catch the prey.
B.They enable the beetle to fly.
C.They help the beetle move quickly.
D.They protect the soft body parts.
2.How do beetles respond to changes of habitats?
A.They are adaptable to the food change.
B.They can change their body temperature.
C.They are adaptable to the freezing cold weather.
D.They can use their wings to fight against the cold.
3.What is the most probable title of the passage?
A.The Ice Age affected the beetles
B.Different habitats affected the beetles
C.Beetles: the six-legged survivors
D.Beetles: the unique predators
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
We talk continuously about how to make children more “resilient (有恢复力的)”, but whatever we’re doing, it’s notworking. Rates of anxiety disorders and depression are rising rapidly among teenagers. What are we doing wrong?
Nassim Taleb invented the word “antifragile” and used it to describe a small but very important class of systems that gain from shocks, challenges, and disorder. The immune (免疫的) system is one of them: it requires exposure to certain kinds of bacteria and potential allergens (过敏原) in childhood in order to develop to its full ability.
Children’s social and emotional abilities are as antifragile as their immune systems. If we overprotect kids and keep them “safe” from unpleasant social situations and negative emotions, we deprive (剥夺) them of the challenges and opportunities for skill-building they need to grow strong. Such children are likely to suffer more when exposed later to other unpleasant but ordinary life events, such as teasing and social rejection.
It’s not the kids’ fault. In the UK, as in the US, parents became much more fearful in the 1980s and 1990s as cable TV and later the Internet exposed everyone, more and more, to those rare occurrences of crimes and accidents that now occur less and less. Outdoor play and independent mobility went down; screen time and adult-monitored activities went up.
Yet free play in which kids work out their own rules of engagement, take small risks, and learn to master small dangers turns out to be vital for the development of adult social and even physical competence. Depriving them of free play prevents their social-emotional growth. Norwegian play researchers Ellen Sandseter warned: “We may observe an increased anxiety or mental disorders in society if children are forbidden from participating in age adequate risky play.”
They wrote those words in 2011. Over the following few years, their prediction came true. Kids born after 1994 are suffering from much higher rates of anxiety disorders and depression than did the previous generation.
What can we do to change these trends? We can’t guarantee that giving primary school children more independence today will bring down the rate of teenage suicide tomorrow. The links between childhood overprotection and teenage mental illness are suggestive but not clear-cut. Yet there are good reasons to suspect that by depriving our naturally antifragile kids of the wide range of experiences they need to become strong, we are systematically preventing their growth. We should let go—and let them grow.
1.Why does the author mention the immune system in Paragraph 2?
A.To stress its importance. B.To analyze the cause of anxiety.
C.To question the latest discovery. D.To help understand a new word.
2.Parents overprotect children because ________.
A.they are concerned about their children’s safety
B.they want to keep children from being teased
C.parent-monitored activities are a must
D.children are not independent enough
3.According to the author, free play can ________.
A.promote children’s resilience
B.strengthen children’s friendship
C.reduce children’s risky behavior
D.develop children’s leadership skills
4.Which of the following does the author probably agree with?
A.Stop trying to perfect your child.
B.It takes great courage to raise children.
C.Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.
D.The more exposed the children are to the risks, the more resilient they would become.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
Most drinks stating that they are fruit flavored contain no fruit at all, while most of the rest contain only a small quantity of fruit, according to a study carried by the British Food Commission."Shoppers need to check the labels before buying drinks, though sometimes the actual content can be nonexistent," said Food Commission spokesperson Ian Tokelove. "Food production is highly competitive. 1. It will increase profits, and consumers won't always realize they are being tricked."Flavorings are focused on the flavors of natural food products such as fruits, meats and vegetables, or creating flavor for food products that do not have the desired flavors. Researchers analyzed the contents of 28 strawberryflavored products sold in stores.2.Of the 11 products that did contain strawberries, five of them contained less than one percent real fruit. In addition, each juice box contained nearly eight teaspoons of sugar.3.Let's take jam as an example. Some strawberryflavored jam was labeled as containing no artificial color1 s, flavors, or sweeteners, but it contained ly no strawberries at all.4.Consumers have the rights to know clearly about what they have bought. Under current UK law, food packages do not have to distinguish between natural and artificial flavoring. "Describing a product as strawberry flavor and covering the surface of the packet with pictures of strawberries is misleading.5.Unfortunately, it is also legal and widespread," Tokelove said. "It's time to take measures to protect the consumers' rights."
| A. They found that about 60 percent of them didn't contain any fruit at all. |
| B. Even products advertised as more natural often contained no fruit. |
| C. The products which contain real fruit are popular with people. |
| D. Actually the product contains just a tiny percentage of strawberry or even no fruit at all. |
| E. It is important and necessary to demand a small amount of flavoring in the products. |
| F. If companies can cut their costs by using flavoring, they are likely to do so. |
| G. The Food Commission suggested all flavors used in a product should be listed on the packaging. |
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
People are always asking what the most important element to a healthy relationship is. The truth is that there are many. _________, there is one really important thing that all great and healthy relationships have in common—_________. Yes, of course, there are some little _________ lies even in the best of relationships—anniversary surprises or _________ birthday parties—but the truth is that happy couples communicate honestly and don’t lie to _________ their own interests. So how can you have more open _________ in your own relationship?
First, remember that honesty is the best policy even _________ your partner might not like what you have to say. Yes, it may be _________ to tell your guy that you don’t like one of his friends. But lying or holding things _________ will make things worse in the long run.
The next thing to be __________ is to say what you have to say __________. If your partner feels __________, he will be less likely to accept what you have to say and may even become __________. The way you speak is of great importance when you are discussing sensitive issues. Think through what you want to say __________ before you bring it up. You don’t want to offend the person that you __________. You just want them to be __________ of the truth.
One last thing to keep in mind about communicating openly is that it strengthens your relationship. If you are not honest about any dirty little __________ you may have, they will probably come up eventually and you will __________ in bigger trouble. And if you keep things to yourself, your relationship will not be based on the truth, which is __________ to a solid foundation. Hard __________ the truth may be sometimes, honesty really is the best policy.
1.A.Therefore B.However C.Besides D.Instead
2.A.honesty B.enthusiasm C.cooperation D.persistence
3.A.red B.purple C.white D.black
4.A.unexposed B.unprepared C.unexpected D.unarranged
5.A.protect B.increase C.adjust D.switch
6.A.appreciation B.reputation C.co-operation D.communication
7.A.why B.when C.how D.where
8.A.tough B.unwilling C.rough D.guilty
9.A.in B.on C.above D.back
10.A.serious about B.proud of C.expert at D.worthy of
11.A.obviously B.rudely C.nicely D.smoothly
12.A.settled B.attacked C.approved D.delighted
13.A.creative B.relative C.sensitive D.defensive
14.A.slightly B.thoroughly C.frequently D.briefly
15.A.suspect B.convince C.love D.hate
16.A.afraid B.aware C.ashamed D.absolute
17.A.uniforms B.secrets C.blankets D.cuts
18.A.take up B.pick up C.break up D.end up
19.A.consistent B.impressive C.fundamental D.representative
20.A.although B.while C.until D.as
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。
A family can be two or more people 1. share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and usually live in the same house. Families range from all sorts of 2. (race), forms and sizes. Families differ in various ways but each one has 3. (it) own definition of a happy home and family. So, what makes a happy family? There are many important factors that make a happy family.
Order is one of the important factors that make a happy family. With order there is no chaos or 4. (confuse) in the home. A well-organized family will be able to function smoothly and easily in 5. (complete) various tasks that each individual must do. When each individual knows his/her own responsibility, he/she is capable and able to bring 6. (much) harmony and peace in the home.
Quality time is definitely one aspect to having a happy family. This quality time 7. (spend) together as a family no matter what the activity is will 8. (sure)strengthen a family’s relationship. Quality time 9. (help) to develop a bond between family members. Not only will this strengthen ties, it will provide you 10. memories of times spent together, whether it is having fun, being sad, happy, or bad.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
假定你是李华。世界军人运动会（Military World Games）正在武汉举行，你刚好有机会去参观位于黄家湖湖畔的军运村（ Athletes’ village），你想邀请你的外籍英语老师Mike与你同行。请你给他写一封电子邮件，要点如下：
1. 简单介绍运动员居住的“军运村”（设施齐全，生活便利，能容纳上万运动员居住）
2. 邀请他与你一起；
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Mike,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
As the sun shone through Poltu’s window, he was already wide awake in his bed. He got up and ran straight to his study table. There, in an empty jam bottle, was the treasure. A colorful little butterfly. How difficult it had been to catch it in the backyard of his house. It had kept flying away from his grasp. But catch it he did. And now it was going to be part of his biology project in school.
The biology project required Poltu to submit the study of a living creature every month. Most of his classmates drew diagrams from their books as part of this exercise. But Poltu was going to do something different. He was going to present a live creature—this butterfly.
Poltu loved the different colours on the wings of the butterfly. Red, green and blue. How beautiful it looked when it fluttered the wings. Poltu had made a few holes on the cap of the bottle to let air pass through, and added tender leaves for the butterfly to nibble (小口的咬) on. He might have trapped the creature, but he cared for it.
Excited about displaying his exhibit to the biology teacher, Poltu dressed hurriedly, and left for school. His school was walking distance from his house. He took a short cut and when he arrived, the gate wasn’t wholly open yet.
He walked straight into his class, opened the bench window and placed the bottle on the windowsill. The golden rays of the sun streamed through the glass, on the delicate wings of the butterfly. Poltu’s butterfly looked simply gorgeous. In a few minutes, the area was full of boys, even from other classes, gazing fondly at it.
That day’s biology class was the most interesting in a long time. Pleased with Poltu’s initiative (主动性), the teacher asked everyone in the class to thank him as he made it possible for them to study a butterfly so closely. Poltu felt like a star for being treated like royalty.
On the way home, whatever small creature Poltu came across, he felt like putting into the bottle. But he checked himself as he wanted to give breathing space to his butterfly.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
However, when he returned home, he found the butter fly not moving. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
He ran outside, holding the bottle tightly in his hand.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
难度: 困难查看答案及解析