The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks(火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr.Smith, a rich neighbour, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
“ Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉) , even if it is only to pass the time ? ” said the blacksmith. “ Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you .”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“ How funny it seems, ” he used to say, “ even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ___________.
| A．his father told him to | B．he wanted to learn a skill |
| C．Jones encouraged him to | D．he just wanted to pass his time |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
| A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks. |
| B．The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill. |
| C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get. |
| D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young. |
What can we learn from the story ?
| A．Practice makes perfect. |
| B．Skill makes life easy. |
| C．A good beginning makes good ending. |
| D．Every man has his gift. |
Rare birds in the UK have been living far better than the more common birds over the last decade due to the efforts of conservation organisations, according to a new assessment．
The research shows 
almost 60% of the 63 rare birds that live in the UK have increased over the last 10 years.
By contrast, only about one third of common species have increased over the same period．Just 28% of rare birds have decreased over the same period, compared with four out of every 10 common birds．The rare birds described in the assessment with increasing populations include the osprey (鹗) and corncrake (秧鸡)．All of these birds are subject to conservation action.
The declining common birds include the nightingale, swift (雨燕), house sparrow and red grouse (苏格兰雷鸟)．These are suffering declines for a variety of reasons, including changes in farming practices.
Dr David Noble, from the British Trust for Ornithology, said: “That some of our rarer birds have responded to targeted conservation action is great news．It shows just what can be achieved．What we need to do now is to continue the good work and use some of the lessons we have learned to help our more common birds.”
Dr Mark Avery, the conservation director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said: “Over the last decade we've enjoyed some great conservation successes, including removing some threatened species from the World Conservation Union's Red List of Thratened Animals and increasing the populations of red kite, osprey, etc．However, these successes are countered (抵消) by continued declines of some widespread species.”
The overview of 210 native birds has been produced by a group of conservation organisations, to mark the publication of The State of the UK's Birds report, which is in its l0th year．The report was published by the RSPB for a group of conservation organisations.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The decline of widespread birds is not worrying for the UK. |
| B．The UK has got some practical experience of bird conservation. |
| C．Changes in farming practices contribute to the increase of rare birds. |
| D．Half of common birds have decreased in the past ten years in the UK. |
We can learn from the passage that Dr David Noble .
| A．hopes that conservation organisations will change the way they work |
| B．is quite disappointed with the result of the new assessment |
C．is losing confide nce in conservation organizations’ action |
| D．has high hopes for the increase in bird population in Britain |
Which of the following can best explain Dr Mark Avery's words?
| A．The UK should not be satisfied with what they have achieved. |
| B．The UK should share their experience with other countries. |
| C．What conservation organisations do is far from satisfactory. |
| D．The RSPB is responsible for the decrease of common birds. |
The passage is most likely to be found in a book about .
| A．popular science | B．historical events |
| C．nature | D．society |
The author's purpose of writing this article is to tell people .
| A．some good ways to protect rare birds |
| B．the differences between rare birds and common birds |
| C．the number of rare birds has increased over the last decade |
| D．some widespread birds in the UK are in great need of help |
Hummingbirds have got their name from the distinct “hum” sound made by their rapidly flapping (拍打) wings．The size of the bird decides the number of flaps it can do．The average lifetime of a hummingbird is 3 or 4 years, but some of them have lived beyond 12 years also．They are unique in many ways．Besides th
e number of rapid flaps they can do per second, they can also fly backwards.
Hummingbirds have an amazing sense of assessing the amount of sugar in the nectar (花蜜) they eat．They feed on the nectar of flowers．Hummingbirds do not feed on flowers whose nectar contains less than 10% sugar．Talk about a sweet tooth! As they cannot sustain themselves on nectar alone because of its poor nutritional value, they also feed on insects and spiders, and hummingbird food mixture that one can make at home.
Attracting hummingbirds to your garden will require a little planning．Plant butterfly bush, mimosa, coral bells, foxglove, morning glory, etc．These flowers attract the hummingbirds due to their high visibility (可见性) and nectar production．Avoid using pesticides (杀虫剂), as it will not only kill the insects around the flowers, but hurt the hummingbirds as well.
A common food for these birds is the sweettasting sugar syrup (糖浆)．Hummingbird food ingredients are just two: sugar and water．Take a large clean bowl, pour in it four cups of hot water, and dissolve one cup of table sugar in it．Stir slowly until all sugar has dissolved．
Hummingbirds, tiny as they are, collect a lot of nutrition．Providing them with hummingbird food mixture made of sugar water is a sure way to get all these beauties humming in your garden.Hummingbirds will have some little animals for their meal when .
| A．they can't find any green plants |
| B．they can't take in enough nutrition |
| C．they are bored with eating nectar |
| D．they are too old to fly |
In order to attract hummingbirds, you should .
| A．plan high trees |
| B．grow plants with small flowers |
| C．grow plants whose flowers are bright in color |
| D．grow plants coming into flower in the morning |
The main idea of the fourth paragraph is .
| A．how to prepare food for hummingbirds |
| B．where hummingbirds can find delicious food |
| C．hummingbirds can't live for long without sugar |
| D．hummingbirds like manmade food better than nectar |
COOL INVENTIONS
From school to band Practice, the Venturi Eclectic is an Earth-friendly way to get Where you want to go．This battery-powered, zero-emission (meaning it doesn't pollute the air) vehicle runs mainly on renewable energy．Solar panels on the Eclectic's roof absorb sun rays when you're driving．On windy days, you can connect a machine to the car's roof that collects energy from the wind while you're parked．The Eclectic's top speed is 28 miles an hour; the battery lasts for 31 miles before it needs to be recharged．Zipping (迅速行进) around the neighborhood has never been better.
Here's an eco-friendly way to tell time: Simply fill the Bedol Water-powered Clock's tank (箱) with water, add some lemon juice, and the clock will display the time without the need for environmentally harmful batteries．There are two sets of metal electrodes (电极) inside the water tank．Water contains ions (离子) that carry negative and positive charges．These ions complete a charge between the electrodes, creating enough energy to power the clock．Just refill the tank every few weeks, and this clock will keep on 
ticking.
Bloodhound SuperSonic Car (SSC) will be the first car to attempt to break the l,000-mile-an-hour barrier．(The current record is 763 miles an hour.) A concept for now, the rocket-shaped car gets its initial push to 350 miles an hour from a jet engine．Then a rocket fires up, pushing the SSC past 1,000 miles an hour．In order to keep the car streamlined (流线型的), the driver lies back at a 45-degree angle.
You're having a blast at your friend's birthday party．But when it's time to bring out the cake, everyone crowds around, blocking your view．No worries．Throw the Triops into the air, and this clever camera captures the view from above．The Triops can take three pictures at once, each from different angles．You can also record sounds and command the Triops to start shooting whenever it hears that noise．That's one smart camera.According to the passage, the Venturi Eclectic .
| A．is popular with businessmen | B．is suitable for a long trip |
| C．can turn wind into energy | D．has only a little gas emission |
What is the common characteristic of the Venturi Eclectic and the Bedol Water-powered Clock?
| A．They don't need batteries. | B．They are difficult to operate. |
| C．They can be powered by water. | D．They are environmentally friendly. |
The underlined phrase “having a blast” in the last paragraph probably means .
| A．looking at a picture | B．enjoying yourself |
| C．blowing out a candle | D．recording sounds |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The Triops is sensitive to sounds. |
| B．The driver of the SSC must be of great size. |
| C．The color of the Bedol Water-powered Clock is like that of lemon. |
| D．The SSC doesn’t have anything to do with a rocket actually. |
In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition (试演) for My Kind of people, a televised talent show popular in the UK．She was immediately rejected．She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn't perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her pl
ain looks．Boyle was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.
Boyle suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away．After his death．Boyle put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother Bridget Boyle．The mother and daughter often talked of Susan's possible fame．Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions．“She was the one who said I should enter Britain's Got Talent．We used to watch it together.” Susan later told reporters．“She thought I would win.”
In 1999, Boyle used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo (样本唱片) tape．which she sent to record companies．In 2002, Boyle began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil．
In 2007, Boyle's mother passed away at the age of 91．A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone.” She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles．For over a year, she refused to sing．But in August of 2008, O'Neil urged her to try out for Britain's Got Talent．Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Boyle auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland．She sang I Dreamed A Dream in the first round of the show, which was aired on 11 April 2009.
The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast (对比) to her powerfully beautiful voice．The performance astonished the audience and the judges．Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week．Although she failed to win the final of Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular．Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.Bridget Boyle's attitude towards her daughter's musical talent can be described as .
| A．critical | B．doubtful | C．indifferent | D．optimistic |
From Para．4 we learn that Boyle .
| A．was slightly discouraged by her voice coach |
| B．entered Britain's Got Talent to prove her ability |
| C．decided to give up her singing career |
| D．was deeply affected by her mother's death |
Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?
| A．Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008. |
| B．Her audition for My Kind of People failed. |
| C．She has never stopped singing since 1995. |
| D．She was the winner of Britain's Got Talent. |
In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to .
| A．tell us how Boyle's dream came true |
| B．let us know more about Boyle's personal life |
| C．show how Boyle was influenced by her family |
| D．explain how to enter and win a talent show |
When a dog bites a man, it usually doesn’t make news. However, this saying change when Beijing and several other Chinese cities announced the “Civilized Dog Raising” campaign in November.
The government will require Beijingers to get licenses for their dogs, and will enforce the one-dog, one-family policy. Police say the "one-dog policy" is aimed at reducing the number of dog bites and lowering the risk of rabies. According to the Ministry of Health, rabies has become the top infectious disease in China. Dangerous dogs and dogs taller than 35 centimeters, such as Great Danes, have been banned from urban areas.
Pet owners are also required to clean up their dog's droppings and make sure dogs are leashed (拴着), especially in public areas. Some public areas, such as banks, are closed to dogs entirely.
Dogs are regarded as man's best friend and the history of raising dogs can be traced back to the stone age. It therefore seems sad that dogs are unwelcome in Beijing. But it is not the case that Beijingers dislike dogs. Actually, there are many dog lovers in Beijing. The city now has more than 550,000 registered dogs, up 20 percent from the previous year.
The problem is, actually, about living space. Different from many Westerners, most Beijingers live in urban apartment buildings, not houses in the suburbs. There is very limited open space for walking dogs. The barking, the waste, and unleashed dogs in buildings, elevators and places people gather can cause fear, fights and frustration.
Beijing is not the only city to have a dog problem. Paris, London, New York and Vienna all face similar challenges and have common rules for dogs and their owners.Which of the following may be a suitable title for the story?
| A．Man's Best Friend | B．Civilized Dog Raising |
| C．No Room For Dogs | D．When A Dog Bites A Man |
What can be inferred from the above passage?
A．If a dog bites a m an, it will become an important news item. |
| B．Rabies is the most serious infectious disease in Beijing. |
| C．Soon there will be no dangerous dogs or dogs taller than 35 centimetres in Beijing. |
| D．Beijing has trouble accommodating so many dogs. |
According to the passage, what should you NOT do if you are a dog owner in Beijing?
| A．Walk your dog in public places. |
| B．Have more than one dog. |
| C．Raise your dog in urban apartment buildings. |
| D．Let your dog bark in places where people gather. |
In the writer's opinion, the main cause of the dog prob
lem in Beijing is _____________.
| A．the limited living space in urban areas |
| B．its lack of rules for dogs and their owners |
| C．Beijingers and westerners having different lifestyles |
| D．the increasing number of dangerous dogs |
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