Both warm-blooded and cold-blooded desert animals have ways to escape the desert heat. Warm- blooded desert animals, such as rats and mice, rest during the day, often staying in cool underground burrows. At night they search for food. Animals that are out during the day, such as cold-blooded lizards and snakes, are active only for short periods. As their body temperature rises, these reptiles（爬行动物） move into the shade in order to cool down. In the early evening, when the sun grows weaker, the reptiles become more active and begin their search for food again.
Getting enough water to survive is a major problem for all desert animals. Some desert animals, like desert birds, manage to find water holes. Other desert animals, such as the kangaroo rat and the related jerboa, get water only from the food that they eat. Because these animals eat mainly dry seeds, they must survive on a tiny amount of water.
Most deserts have only a small number of frogs and toads because these animals must be near water to survive. Yet even these creatures have adapted(适应) to desert conditions. When small amounts of water collect in temporary streams, the desert-living frogs and toads become active. After a rainfall, they lay their eggs. The eggs grow into tadpoles in a few days and into adults in just four weeks. When the puddles(水坑) dry up, the adult frogs or toads dig into the ground. Their metabolism(新陈代谢) slows, and they stay beneath the ground until the next rain, which may be as good as a year away. Until then, their bodily activities continue at a reduced rate.
The camel — often called the ship of the desert — is one of the most successful desert animals. Camels can go for long periods without water, but eventually they must drink. When water becomes available to them after a long drought, they may drink 95 liters of water or more. When water is not available, what helps camels survive the desert heat is the fat stored in their humps(驼峰). A camel’s hump contains about 12 kilograms of fat. Fat is rich in hydrogen. As the fat is digested, hydrogen from the fat combines with oxygen in the air that the camel breathes. The result is H2O, or water. Each kilogram of fat that a camel digests produces about a liter of water.
16．Desert animals are usually more active at night because _____.
A．it is cooler at night B．it is easier to find water
C．they like the dark D．they are less likely to be attacked at night
17．Which of the following desert animals can get water only from the food?
A．The camel. B．The kangaroo. C．The frog. D．The rat.
18．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．All the desert animals rest during the day.
B．All the desert animals don’t rest during the day.
C．Cold-blooded desert animals are out most of the day.
D．None of the cold-blooded desert animals go out during the day.
19．The underlined word “burrows” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _____.
A．holes B．caves C．rooms D．openings
About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier, only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man can not see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shades of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green - a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods” but these are used for seeing when it is nearly dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes (蚊子) like blue but do not like yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible (看不见的) colors around.Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
| A．Women are more careful. |
| B．There are few color-blind women. |
| C．Women are fonder of driving than men. |
| D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking |
This passage is mainly about ________.
| A．color and its surprising effects |
| B．women being luckier than men |
| C．danger caused by color blindness |
| D．color blindness |
According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”， we can ________.
| A．tell orange from yellow |
| B．see in weak light |
| C．kill mosquitoes |
| D．tell different shapes |
We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a ________.
| A．red light | B．yellow light | C．blue light | D．green light |
Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.
Born in September, 1897, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies' two daughters. Along with nice other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris.
Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using Xray facilities (设备) to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing Xray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgium. Her services were recognised in the form of a Military Medal by the French government.
In 1918, Irene became her mother's assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.
Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity (辐射能). Irene JoliotCurie died from leukemia on March 17,1956.Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?
| A．Because she received a degree in mathematics. |
| B．Because she contributed to saving the wounded. |
| C．Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic. |
| D．Because she worked as a helper to her mother. |
Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederic Joliot?
| A．At the Curie Institute. | B．At the University of Paris. |
| C．At a military hospital. | D．At the College of Sévigné. |
When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?
| A．In 1932. | B．In 1927. |
| C．In 1897. | D．In 1926. |
In which of the following aspects was Irene Curie different from her mother?
| A．Irene worked with radioactivity. | B．Irene combined family and career. |
| C．Irene won the Nobel Prize once. | D．Irene died from leukemia. |
A cancer-stricken British teenage girl said Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online "Bucket List" of things she wanted to do before dying.
Alice Pyne, l5, created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells. “I’ve been fighting cancer for almost four years and now l know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn't look like I'm going to win this one," she wrote.
For her list, the teenager took inspiration from the 2007 film “The Bucket List”, in which two terminally ill(患绝症的) men, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, draw up a list of things they wish to do before they die.
On her list, at the site www.alicepyne.blogspot.com, she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor(骨髓捐赠者), swimming with sharks, meeting boy band Take That and getting a purple iPad computer.
Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked about subjects on Twitter.
"Oh dear and I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends!" she wrote after her site attracted huge attention. "Thank you so much for all your lovely messages to me."
Pyne, who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston, revealed (透露) the management of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog. A group of local lawmakers have also joined forces with the Anthony Nolan blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell register.What happened after Alice Pyne wrote her "Bucket List"?
| A．The media called on people to help her. |
| B．People sent gifts to her from all over the world. |
| C．A lot of people offered to donate bone marrow to her. |
| D．People around the world sent messages to support her. |
Alice Pyne wrote her "Bucket List" to ___________.
| A．express her last few wishes |
| B．say goodbye to a few friends |
| C．give comfort to two terminally ill men |
| D．catch people's attention |
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that Alice Pyne _________.
| A．is unaware of her own conditions |
| B．is calm to know that death is approaching |
| C．is very sad to know that she will die |
| D．is still quite confident in fighting against cancer |
Which of the following is NOT on Alice Pyne's "Bucket List"?
| A．To meet a boy. | B．To get a cool computer. |
| C．To swim with sharks. | D．To ask people to donate bone marrow. |
Hunting
The days of the hunter are almost over in India. This is partly because there is practically nothing left to kill, and partly because some steps have been taken, mainly by banning tiger-shooting, to protect those animals which still survive.
Some people say that Man is naturally a hunter. I disagree with this view. Our earliest forefathers, who at first possessed no weapons, spent their time digging for roots, and were no doubt themselves often hunted by meat-eating animals.
I believe the main reason why the modern hunter kills is that he thinks people will admire his courage in overpowering dangerous animals. Of course, there are some who truly believe that the killing is not really the important thing, and that the chief pleasure lies in the joy of the hunt and the beauties of the wild countryside. There are also those for whom hunting in fact offers a chance to prove themselves and risk death by design; these men go out after dangerous animals like tigers, even if they say they only do it to rid the countryside of a threat. I can respect reasons like these, but they are clearly different from the need to strengthen your high opinion of yourself.
The greatest big-game hunters expressed in their writings something of these finer motives(动机).One of them wrote.
“You must properly respect what you are after and shoot it cleanly and on the animal’s own territory(领地)。You must fix forever in your mind all the wonders of that particular day. This is better than letting him grow a few years older to be attacked and wounded by his own son and eventually eaten, half alive, by other animals, Hunting is not a cruel and senseless killing – not if you respect the thing you kill, not if you kill to enrich your memories, not if you kill to feed your people.”
I can understand such beliefs, and can compare these hunters with those who hunted lions with spears(矛) and bravely caught them by the tail. But this is very different from many tiger—shoots I have seen, in which modern weapons were used. The so—called hunters fired from tall trees or from the backs of trained elephants. Such methods made tigers seem no more dangerous than rabbits.There is no more hunting in India now partly because _________.
| A．it is dangerous to hunt there | B．hunting is already out of date |
| C．hunters want to protect animals | D．there are few animals left to hunt |
The author thinks modern hunters kill mainly _________.
| A．to make the countryside safe | B．to earn people’s admiration |
| C．to gain power and influence | D．to improve their health |
What do we learn about the big-game hunters?
A They hunt old animals
B. They mistreat(虐待) animals
C .They hunt for food
D. They hunt for moneyWhat is the author’s view on the tiger-shoots he has seen?
| A．Modern hunters lack the courage to hunt face-to-face |
| B．Modern hunters should use more advanced weapons |
| C．Modern hunters like to hunt rabbits instead of tigers |
| D．Modern hunters should put their safety first |
One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations(引文) showing how it was used.
This was a huge task so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a booklined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum(精神病院) for the Criminally Insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414 825words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary________.
| A．came out before Minor died |
| B．was edited by an American volunteer |
| C．included the English words invented by Murray |
| D．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary |
How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?
| A．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers. |
| B．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray. |
| C．He provided a great number of words and quotations. |
| D．He went to England to work with Murray. |
Which of the following best describes Dr. Minor?
| A．Brave and determined. | B．Unusual and scholarly. |
| C．Considerate and optimistic. | D．Cautious and friendly. |
What does the text mainly talk about?
| A．Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary. |
| B．The friendship between Murray and Minor. |
| C．The history of the English language. |
| D．Broadmoor Asylum and its patients. |
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