Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road
— Reported by Sheila Carrick
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear(灰熊)and mountain lion can cross the road.
"Millions of animals die each year on US roads," the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact，only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the US today. The main reason? Road kill.
"Ecopassages (生态通道 ) " may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. "These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents," said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the ecopassages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders(火蜥蜴) and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass!The writer uses the example of "ocelots " to show that ________.
| A．wild animals have become more dangerous |
| B．the driving conditions have improved greatly |
| C．the measure for projecting wildlife fails to work |
| D．an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents |
From the news story, we know an ecopassage is ________.
| A．an underground path for cars | B．a fence built for the safety of the area |
| C．a bridge for animals to get over a river | D．a path for animals to cross the road |
When the writer says that animals seem" to be catching on", he means ________.
| A．animals begin to realize the dangers on the road |
| B．animals begin to learn to use ecopassages |
| C．animals are crossing the road in groups |
| D．animals are increasing in number |
The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because________
| A．wild animals may attack cars | B．wild animals may jam the road |
| C．they may see wild animals in the park | D．they may see wild animals on ecopassages |
I usually doubt about any research that concludes that people are either happier or unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago.While any of these statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. Still, 1 was struck by a report which concluded that today’s children are significantly more anxious than children in the 1950s. In fact, the analysis showed, normal children between 9 and 17 have a higher level of anxiety today than children who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago.
Why are America’s kids so stressed? The report cites two main causes: increasing physical isolation (孤独) brought on by high divorce rates and less involvement in community, and a growing perception that the world is a more dangerous place.
Given that we can’t turn the clock back, adults can still do plenty to help the next generation to cope.
At the top of the list,nurturing (培育) is a better appreciation of the limits of individualism. No child is an island. Strengthening social ties helps build communities and protect individuals against stress.
To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs and computers. Your family will thank you later.They will then have more time for face-to-face relationships, and they will get more sleep.
Limit the amount of virtual (虚拟的) violence your children are exposed to. It’s not just video games and movies; children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news.
Keep your expectations for your children reasonable. Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale.
Make exercise part of your daily routine. It will help you deal with your own anxieties and provide a good model for your kids. Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable,but it doesn’t have to ruin your life.What does the author thinks of the conclusion that people in America are unhappier than 50 years ago?
| A．Surprising | B．Confusing | C．Illogical | D．Questionable |
What does the author mean by saying “ we can’t turn the clock back(Para. 3)?
| A．It’s impossible to slow down the pace of the change. |
| B．The social reality children are facing cannot be changed. |
| C．Lessons learned from the past should not be forgotten. |
| D．It’s impossible to forget the past. |
According to an analysis, compared with normal children today, children 50 years ago __________.
| A．were less isolated physically |
| B．were probably less self-centered |
| C．probably suffered less from anxiety |
| D．were considered less individualistic |
What is the first and most important thing parents should do to help their children?
| A．To provide them with a safer environment. |
| B．To lower their expectations for them. |
| C．To get them more involved socially. |
| D．To set a good model for them to follow. |
What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?
| A．Anxiety, though always unavoidable, can be coped with. |
| B．Children’s anxiety has been enormously exaggerated(夸大). |
| C．Children’s anxiety can be removed with more parental care. |
| D．Anxiety, if properly controlled, may help children become mature. |
The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.
But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.
Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.
One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rain forest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”
That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.What did the teacher base his decision on when giving out jobs to the children?
| A．Their characters and interests. |
| B．Their class performance during the previous year. |
| C．Their working performance during the previous year. |
| D．Their ability of managing their accounts during the previous year. |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．Each child got an important job. |
| B．Each child got an interesting job. |
| C．The perfect student got the job of everyone’s preference． |
| D．The most responsible student got the job of least interest. |
What is Rita’s attitude to her father’s suggestion?
| A．Negative. | B．Uncertain. | C．Totally positive. | D．Acceptive. |
We can infer that the man who made the declaration is a _________.
| A．hunter | B．director | C．biologist | D．principal |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Never complain about life. |
| B．Small tasks can lead to fortunes. |
| C．Men are best known by their friends. |
| D．Responsibility and intelligence bring good luck. |
The fourth round of heavy smog to hit Beijing in four weeks has sent more people to the hospital with respiratory（呼吸的） illnesses and led to calls for laws to control the pollution.
Pan Shiyi, a celebrity real estate developer said he is planning to propose (提案) a Clean Air Act to the local government. As a representative to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, he started an online survey at 9:20 a.m. Within three hours, more than 25,000 web users, or 99 percent of total respondents（应答者）, welcomed his proposal on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter.
They have good reasons to stand alongside Pan. The latest round of haze（雾霾）reduced visibility to under 500 meters in many parts of the city. The smog has also led to a great increase in respiratory illnesses, particularly among children and the elderly. Anxious parents and doctors almost all blame the smoggy air for the illnesses. Though most schoolchildren are home for the winter holidays, the bad air can easily move indoors. Besides, ordinary medical masks fail to provide adequate protection, so some people have turned to gas masks and respirators（呼吸器）.
The causes of the scary smog are rather mysterious, though experts blame excessive emissions and the mountains around Beijing that trap pollution in winter, unless there is adequate wind to clear it away. Some critics have pointed fingers at China’s top two oil firms, China National Petroleum Corp and China Petrochemical Corporation, saying the companies’ outdated production technologies produce large quantities of substandard, high-polluting gas fuel.
Meanwhile, concerned Beijingers have moved their brainstorming sessions to cyberspace. If Pan’s proposal for a Clean Air Act is adopted, netizens say the new law should include items providing for “car-free days” in times of smog, higher standards for vehicle fuel, stricter restrictions on industrial and exhaust gas emissions, and more effective protection for the public.
Beijing is not the only city that has ever lost the blue sky. Five days of thick fog caused thousands of deaths in Britain in December 1952, urging the government to pass the first Clean Air Act in 1956, which introduced smokeless zones and cleaner fuels to reduce pollution. That may provide some experience for Beijing to refer to. What can we learn from the passage?
| A．People are clear about the causes of the smoggy weather. |
| B．Children staying indoors will not get respiratory illnesses. |
| C．Smog is worse for people with lower resistance to diseases. |
| D．Masks can give people protection against the smoggy weather. |
Britain is mentioned in the last paragraph to ______.
| A．suggest Beijing should learn from other countries |
| B．let people know many places have this problem |
| C．tell people the situation in Britain is worse |
| D．call on the government to pass Britain’s Clean Air Act |
What’s the best title for this passage？
| A．The Use of Gas masks and Respirators |
| B．Beijingers Call for Clean Air Act |
| C．Effective Protection for Blue Sky |
| D．The Mysterious Causes of the Scary Smog |
An Australian researcher is urging parents to load up their teenager’s backpack and make them walk to school.
Professor Leon Straker says students who walk or cycle to school are less likely to have back and neck pain. But the study of 1,202 Western Australian 14yearold found that 72% of students travelled to school by car or bus. Straker says the study suggests walking or cycling while carrying a schoolbag helps improve trunk (躯干) and spinal (脊柱的) muscle strength.
This helps reduce back pain because greater muscle strength improves support for the back during load carrying .Despite advocating that parents get their children moving，Straker warns bag load should not exceed (超过) 15% of body weight.
Straker says the study also stresses that neck pain is as common as back pain among young teenagers. This is an area that has been largely ignored，he says，but can be an important indicator of neck pain into adulthood.
For the study，students were asked a series of questions such as how long they carried their bags for，how they carried their schoolbags，the method of travel，and their perceptions(感觉) about the bag’s weight.
Straker says about half of all participants experienced back and neck pain，with slightly more females reporting neck pain. However，the gender (性别) difference may also be due to the fact that females have lower pain tolerance.
Studies from the 1980s found carrying a bag over one shoulder was most common among teenagers. However in this study 85% of participants carried their bag over both shoulders.
Straker believes the change has been driven partly through education campaigns，but also by increasing fashion status of backpacks and improved design.In the opinion of Leon Straker，parents should________.
| A．reduce the load of their children’s schoolbags |
| B．put more books in their children’s schoolbags |
| C．get their children’s schoolbags ready for school |
| D．ask their children to walk to school carrying schoolbags |
If a child weighs 40 kilograms，the weight of his schoolbag should be________.
| A．no more than 15 kg |
| B．less than 6 kg |
| C．as heavy as 9 kg |
| D．more than 6 kg |
We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．most of the students in Australia walk to school |
| B．neck pain is uncommon among young teenagers |
| C．walking while carrying a backpack helps reduce back pain |
| D．males are more likely to experience back pain than females |
According to the passage，what change has taken place since the 1980s?
| A．How students carry their schoolbags. |
| B．How heavy students’ schoolbags are. |
| C．How students go to school every day. |
| D．How long students carry their schoolbags for. |
Nuclearpowered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the 20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them. But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia.
The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclearpowered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel(柴油)powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October 30, the two countries also planned to level up their military (军事的) cooperation and the USA called for Japan to take a larger role in alliance (联盟)military moves.
It will be the first time that a nuclearpowered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in World War Ⅱ at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclearpowered weapons are based.
“A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars in damage，” said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier.
The 44yearold Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since 1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned(废弃核武器) in 2008. The new carrier will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern technology.
Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the USJapan military alliance but also to keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't believe that the two countries are threats to the region.
“There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense，” said Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed.With such a powerful weapon to enter its country, Japanese citizens ________.
| A．are aware of its benefits to the country |
| B．are anxious about its potential danger |
| C．are curious about the advanced technology |
| D．are against where the carrier will be based |
The replacement of the aircraft carrier is intended to________.
| A．set up a kind of base in Japan |
| B．strengthen the USJapan military alliance |
| C．show Japan's greater military capability |
| D．get rid of the dated marine weapon |
From the story, we learn that________.
| A．no other countries except the USA and France possess aircraft carriers |
| B．Japan has long planned to increase its military capability with new weapons |
| C．Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier |
| D．Japan will be the third country to produce a nuclearpowered aircraft carrier |
By his remark in the last paragraph, the professor means that________.
| A．he is quite confident of their military defense |
| B．he is completely opposed to a new nuclear carrier |
| C．what is needed is far more than a nuclear carrier |
| D．it is unnecessary to guard against the two countries |
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