The African elephant,the largest land animal remaining on earth ,is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统).Unlike other animals,the African elephant is to a great degree the builder of its environment.As a big plant-eater,it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原)surroundings in which it lives,therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat(栖息地).
It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat.In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day,it kills small trees and underbushes,and pulls branches off big trees.This results in many open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas.In these open spaces are many plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example.In their natural state,the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor.By pulling down trees and eating plants,elephants make open spaces,allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor.In such situations,the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species.If the elephant disappears,scientists say,many other animals will also disappear from large areas of forest and savanna,greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem. What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Disappearance of African elephants. |
| B．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
| C．The effect of African elephants' search for food. |
| D．The eating habit of African elephants. |
What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
| A．Fixing the time. | B．Worsening the state. |
| C．Improving the quality. | D．Deciding the conditions. |
What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
| A．They result from the destruction of rain forests. |
| B．They provide food mainly for African elephants. |
| C．They are home to many endangered animals. |
| D．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds. |
The passage is developed mainly by________..
| A．showing the effect and then explaining the causes |
| B．pointing out similarities and differences |
| C．describing the changes in space order |
| D．giving examples |
DGEWOOD — Every morning at Dixie Heights High school, customers pour into a special experiment: the district’s first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs.
Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates. Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries.
By closing time at 9:20 a.m., the shop usually sells 90 drinks.
“Whoever made the chi tea, Ms. Schatzman says it was good,” Christy McKinley, a second year student, announced recently, after chatting with the teacher on the line.
The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition. Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school. They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs. They keep a timecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers.
Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia.
Not that it was easy. Chevalier’s first problem to overcome was product-related. Should schools be selling coffee? What about sugar content?
Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped. She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition (营养) guidelines.
The whole school has joined in to help.
Teachers agreed to give up their lounge (休息室) in the morning. Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall. Business students designed the paychecks. The basketball team helped pay for cups. What is the text mainly about？
| A．A best-selling coffee. | B．A special educational program. |
| C．Government support for schools | D．A new type of teacher-student relationship. |
The Dixie PIT program was introduced in order to .
| A．raise money for school affairs | B．do some research on nutrition |
| C．develop students’ practical skills | D．supply teachers with drinks |
How did Christy McKinley know Ms. Schatzman’s opinion of the chi tea？
| A．She once met her in the shop. | B．She heard her saying it with others. |
| C．She talked to her on the phone. | D．She went to her office to deliver the tea. |
We know from the text that Ginger Gray .
| A．starts the guidelines for coffee shops | B．sees that the drinks meet health standards |
| C．teaches at Dixie Heights High School | D．manages the Dixie PIT program in Kenton County |
The engineer Camillo Olivetti was 40 years old when he started the company in 1908. At his factory in Ivrea, he designed and produced the first Italian typewriter. Today the company’s head office is still in Ivrea, near Turin, but the company is much larger than it was in those days and there are offices all
around the world,
By 1930, there was a staff of 700 and the company turned out 13,000 machines a year. Some went
to customers in Italy, but Olivetti exported more typewriters to other countries.
Camillo’s son, Adriano, started working for the company in 1924 and later he became the boss. He introduced a standard speed for the production line and he employed technology and design specialists. The company developed new and better typewriters and then calculators. In 1959 it produced the ELEA computer system. This was the first mainframe (主机) computer designed and made in Italy.
After Adriano died in 1960, the company had a period of financial problem. Other companies, especially the Japanese, made faster progress in electronic technology than the Italian company.
In 1978, Carlo de Benedetti became the new boss. Olivetti increased its marketing and service networks and made agreements with other companies to design and produce more advanced office equipment. Soon it became one of the world’s leading companies in information technology and communication. There are now five independent companies in the Olivetti group — one for personal computers, one for other office equipment, one for systems and service, and two for telecommunications.From the text we learn that .
| A．by 1930 Olivetti produced 13,000 typewriters a year |
| B．Olivetti earned more in the 1960s than in the 1950s |
| C．some of Olivetti’s 700 staff regularly visited customers in Italy |
| D．Olivetti set up offices in other countries from the very beginning |
What was probably the direct result of Olivetti’s falling behind in electronic technology?
| A．Adriano’s death. | B．A period of financial problems. |
| C．Its faster progress. | D．Its agreements with other companies. |
What do we know about Olivetti?
| A．It produced the best typewriter in the world. |
| B．It designed the world’s first mainframe computer. |
| C．It exported more typewriters than other companies. |
| D．It has five independent companies with its head office in Ivrea. |
The best title for the text would be .
| A．The Origin of Olivetti. | B．The Success of Olivetti. |
| C．The History of Olivetti | D．The Production of Olivetti. |
Open Letter to an Editor
I had an interesting conversation with a reporter recently — one who works for you. In fact, he’s one of your best reporters. He wants to leave.
Your reporter gave me a copy of his resume (简历) and photocopies of six stories that he wrote for you. The headlines showed you played them proudly. With great enthusiasm, he talked about how he finds issues, approaches them, and writes about them, which tells me he is one of your best. I’m sure you would hate to lose him. Surprisingly, your reporter is not unhappy. In fact, he told me he really likes his job. He has a great assignment (分工), and said you run a great paper. It would be easy for you to keep him, he said. He knows that the paper values him. He appreciates the responsibility you’ve given
him, takes ownership of his profession, and enjoys his freedom.
So why is he looking for a way out?
He talked to me because he wants his editors to demand so much more of him. He wants to be
pushed, challenged, coached to new heights.
The reporter believes that good stories spring from good questions, but his editors usually ask how
long the story will be, when it will be in, where it can play, and what the budget is.
He longs for conversations with an editor who will help him turn his good ideas into great ones. He wants someone to get excited about what he’s doing and to help him turn his story idea upside down and inside out, exploring the best ways to report it. He wants to be more valuable for your paper. That’s what you want for him, too, isn’t it?
So your reporter has set me thinking.
Our best hope in keeping our best reporters, copy editors, photographers, artists — everyone — is to work harder to make sure they get the help they are demanding to reach their potential. If we can’t do it,
they’ll find someone who can.What does the writer think of the reporter?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Imaginative. | C．Ambitious. | D．Proud. |
What does the reporter want most from his editors in their talks?
| A．Finding the news value of his stories. | B．Giving him financial support. |
| C．Helping him to find issues. | D．Improving his good ideas. |
Which of the following is nearest to the meaning of “turn his story idea upside down and inside
out” in the passage?
| A．Study his story idea in details. | B．Get some general idea of his story. |
| C．Turn his writing over and over. | D．Find some reasons to kill his story. |
The letter aims to remind editors that they should ______.
| A．keep their best reporters at all costs | B．be aware of their reporters’ professional development |
| C．give more freedom to their reporters | D．appreciate their reporters’ working styles and attitudes |
阅读下列材料, 从所给的六个选项(A、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ、Ｅ、和F) 中，选出符合各小题要求的最佳选项。选项中有一项是多余选项。
________ Jack just moved to a new place in Nelson. He wants to buy a house, but he hasn’t much money and his job is not well paid. So he needs a house whose price is about￡50,000 and at least has two bedrooms.
______ Lucy is now 65 years old. She is not very healthy and it is difficult for her to move. So she now wants to find a bungalow (平房) in Earby so that she can easily go out of the house to enjoy the sun in winter and fresh air outside in summer.
________Alice was very poor before, but recently she got a highly paid job and wanted to change her house into a better one. But the house should at least have four bedrooms and two reception rooms. What’s more, it should look like the house in the countryside.
______Peter now lives in Nelson. He dreams of having a house with at least three bedrooms. Besides, he doesn’t like high buildings.
________Lynne has lived in Newchurch for many years and now she wants to buy a house for a change. She wants the house to be semi-detached (半独立式) or detached. She also wants a separate garage.
Top Barn Lane, Newchurch, Lancashire, ￡49,950, flat on 30th floor.2 bathrooms with 3-piece suite in white, 1 reception room, 1 large lounge, 1 fully fitted kitchen,2 double bedrooms.
Queensway, Newchurch, Lancashire, ￡109,500, semi-detached house. 2 countryside view fronts, 2 double bedrooms, 1 modern fitted dining room, 1 detached garage opposite.
White Leys Close, Earby, Barnoldswick, ￡129,950, bungalow. 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room, 1 living room split into sitting and dining areas, doors to garden, a kitchen with a range of fitted bases. Outside of the front is a road for two cars and a garden area.
Birch Hall Lane, Earby, Barnoldswick, ￡180,000. 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 reception rooms. Traditional stone built houses next to some cottages on one side. There is a small cycle store and a long, beautiful wildlife garden.
Craven View, Nelson, Lancashire, ￡185,000. Bungalow, 3 bedrooms with fitted wardrobe, 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room, 1 L-shaped living room with sitting and dining areas, fireplace around, French windows to back gardens, 1 kitchen with bright lighting.
Farrer Street, Nelson, Lancashire, ￡ 45,000. A stone built house. Although requiring a degree of refurbishment (刷新), this two bedroomed house does still offer a good deal. It includes 1 dining kitchen, two bedrooms, three-piece bathroom, gas fired central heating and the yard to the back.
I start to wonder what else had changed since I’d been gone. My parents are in an awkward puzzle, wondering how to treat me now----whether to treat me—still their daughter—as one of them, an adult, or as the child they feel they sent away months earlier.
I run into two of my best friends from high school; we stare at each other, expressionless. We ask the simple questions and give simple answers. It’s as if we have nothing to say to each other. I wonder how things have changed so much in such a small amount of time. We used to laugh and promise that no matter how far away we were, our love for each other would never change. Their interests don’t interest me anymore, and I find myself unable to relate my life to theirs.
I had been so excited to come home, but now I just look at it all and wonder: Is it me? Why hadn’t the world stood still here while I was gone? My room isn’t the same, my friends and I don’t share the same promise, and my parents don’t know how to treat me—or who I am, for that matter.
I get back to school feeling half-satisfied, but not disappointed. I sit up in my bed in my dorm room, surrounded by my pictures, dolls. As I wonder what has happened, I realize that I can’t expect the world to stand still and move forward at the same time. I can change and expect that things at home will stay the same. I have to find comfort in what has changed and what is new; keep the memories, but live in the present.
A few weeks later, I’m packing again, this time for winter break. My mom meets me at the door. I have come home accepting the changes, not only in my surroundings, but most of all in me.What can we infer about the writer?
| A．She is a high school student. | B．She is a college student. |
| C．She is a clerk in a school. | D．She is a traveler. |
What surprises the writer most?
| A．The living conditions of her parents. | B．The decorations in her room. |
| C．The meeting with her best friends. | D．The things still staying the same. |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．The writer’s curiosity about the changes. |
| B．The changes in the writer’s surroundings and in herself. |
| C．The writer’s disappointment about the changes. |
| D．The writer’s refusal to accept the changes. |
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