Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a ‘territory’ is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting(筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually _____________.
| A．an expression of happiness | B．a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger | D．a way of greeting |
What does the underlined word“territory”mean?
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted. |
| B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice. |
| C．An area for which birds fight a against each other. |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own. |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because they want to invite more friends. |
| B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away. |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around. |
| D．Because they want to express their happiness. |
In June 2008,Benita Grist was driving in her hometown of Mississauga as a passenger in the car ahead threw a paper cup out of the window.When Grist horned to express her displeasure, the passenger responded by throwing out a bag.
Instead of annoyed, she decided to do something about it.She organized a one woman litterawareness campaign.She started small,chatting with her neighbors about litter—and asking them to be more conscious of any tendencies they might have to litter.Soon,she noticed local families, kids and all—picking up litter around their homes.”I thought,that’s all it took—for me to open my mouth?” she says.”So I decided to knock on more doors.”
And she didn’t stop there.She approached people on the street,in malls,even in the waiting room before getting an X ray. Grist often started her appeal with something such as,”I hope you don’t think I’m crazy,but...” Yet she was buoyed by the positive response—so much so that in August 2008, she began to contact officials in various levels of government, companies and other institutions in an effort to reach a wider audience.
Through a local Mac’s Convenience Store,Grist managed to contact the company that produces content displayed on their in store monitors.That led to a public service announcement about litter that ran in almost 600 Mac’s stores in Ontario from November 2008 to June 2009. Grist continues to explore every opportunity she has to get the message out.Her grassroots campaign may be different,but she has begun to open people’s eyes about the problem of litter.And thanks to her efforts,in Mississauga,at least,they have begun to do just that. How did Benita Grist start her campaign?
| A．She chatted with her neighbors. | B．She quarreled with a stranger. |
| C．She went door to door,talking. | D．She talked to patients in hospital. |
The underlined word “buoyed” in Paragraph 4 probably means “-------”.
| A．inspired | B．discouraged | C．confused | D．disturbed |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Introduction to a one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| B．How Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| C．Why Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign. |
| D．Benita and the one woman litter awareness campaign. |
During the week days,they are luckily busy office people; but on weekends,they are just a brood of(一窝)stay home animals.A recent survey shows that office workers in China prefer quiet and easy ways to spend their weekends.
In the survey,conducted by job seeking and offering website Zhaopin.com,32.8 percent of the 6000 respondents choose to stay home at weekends and have a good rest,the Beijing Morning Post reported.
Twenty percent use their days off to do housework. And only 19.3 percent are willing to have fun during the break time from work.Their first choice of fun is shopping. Other choices,though practiced by few,include meeting friends,accompanying the children,trips to the suburbs,and lessons for more skills. When they go shopping,54.5 percent of the white collars actually shop in supermarkets,while 27.9 percent attend other stores,especially when discounts are offered. These activities don’t seem to cost much,as 60 percent spend average less than 200 yuan(US$26)during weekends,and 30 percent no more than 500 yuan.
When asked whom they would spend the weekends with,about 40 percent mention their partners,and 30 percent prefer a weekend all by themselves.Less than 20 percent hang out with friends. Only 5.8 percent would kill the time with their colleagues.This is because we tend to avoid too many personal contacts with our coworkers when we don’t have to work with them,according to some experts. How many of the office workers who are the respondents do the housework at weekends?
| A．1968. | B．1158. | C．1200. | D．1674. |
Why will less than ten percent of office workers kill the time with their colleagues at weekends?
| A．Because they can’t spare time to play with them. |
| B．Because they tend to avoid too many personal contacts with them when they don’t have to. |
| C．Because they have many things to deal with at weekends. |
| D．Because some experts suggest they should not keep in touch with their colleagues. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the survey?
| A．There is the same percentage about people preferring a weekend all by themselves and people spending no more than 500 yuan during weekends. |
| B．Most office workers can’t afford things in supermarkets,so they prefer to attend other stores,especially when discounts are offered. |
| C．More than one fifth of office workers like to hang out with friends. |
| D．All the office workers prefer to relax themselves and no one is willing to learn more skills. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How to spend the weekends |
| B．Several ways of spending their weekends for office people |
| C．How to go shopping on the weekends for office people |
| D．Office people prefer easy weekends |
The southwest of Australia has been named as one of 25”hot spots” for future species extinction(灭绝)because of global warming.A new study says global warming will become a top cause of extinction across the world,with thousands of species of plantsand animals likely to be wiped out in the coming decades.
According to the study,global warming ranks among the most serious threats to the planet’s biodiversity and,under some conditions,may be more than that due to deforestation.This study provides even stronger scientific evidence that global warming will result in catastrophic(灾难性的)species losses across the planet.Last month,a UN study said humans were responsible for the worst extinction and urged extra efforts to reach a UN target of slowing the rate of losses by 2010.
Scientists disagree about how far global warming is to blame compared with other human threats such as deforestation,pollution and the introduction of some species to new habitats.But the new study looks at the 25 “hot spots”—areas that contain a big concentration of plants and animals—and predicts that 11.6 percent of all species,with a range from 1 to 43 percent,could be driven to extinction if levels of heat trapping gases in the atmosphere were to keep rising in the next 100 years.
The range would mean the loss of thousands of species.The study gave a wide range because of uncertainties, for instance, about the ability of animals or plants to move towards the poles if the climate warmed. Rare plants,tortoises or birds found only on the southern tip of Africa cannot move south because the nearest land is thousands of miles away in Antarctica. According to the passage,which of the following about Australia is TRUE?
| A．Australia possesses the richest species in the world. |
| B．Australia is the country with the highest rate of extinction. |
| C．The species in the southwest of Australia will be easily affected by global warming. |
| D．Australia will have the highest temperature in the world. |
According to the passage,all the 25”hot spots”-------- .
| A．are rich in plants and animals |
| B．are lacking in natural resources |
| C．lost most of their plants in 2010 |
| D．will be much hotter than the rest of the world |
We can infer if the climate warms,the animals in Australia will most probably move to the ______ .
| A．north | B．east | C．west | D．south |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Australia Named as Extinction”Hot Spot” |
| B．Global Warming and Species Extinction |
| C．Global Warming is Number One Killer |
| D．Australia on the Edge of Extinction |
Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends.They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do.In large families，it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas.It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends.Even when they are not with their friends，they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone.This communication is very important in children’s growing up，because friends can discuss something.These things are difficult to tell their family members. However，parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them.Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends.Have you ever thought of the following questions?
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?Your answers are welcome.Many teenagers think that________can understand them better.
| A．friends | B．brothers | C．sisters | D．parents |
When teenagers have something difficult to tell their parents，they usually________.
| A．stay alone at home | B．fight with their parents |
| C．discuss it with their friends | D．go to their brothers and sisters for help |
The underlined sentence “Your answers are welcome.” means “________”.
| A．You are welcome to discuss the questions with us. |
| B．We’ve got no idea，so your answers are welcome. |
| C．Your answers are always right. |
| D．You can give us all the right answers. |
Which of the following is the writer’s attitude(态度)?
| A．Parents should choose friends for their children. |
| B．Children should choose everything they like. |
| C．Parents should understand their children better. |
| D．Teenagers should only go to their friends for help. |
After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletes have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletes and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics athletes did not take part.
She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spine hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waist. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. at first, she did not like sports, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually she found she began to love athletics, and never looked back.
Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off . In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.
In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelonn. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.
Tanni’s success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to see…. I am still competing at a very high level, but as I get older, things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”
Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In spite of ups and downs, she never takes her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics- a top level athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.
What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?
| A．Basketball | B．Swimming. | C．Tennis. | D．Horse-riding. |
When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?
| A．In 1984. | B．In 1988. | C．In 1992. | D．In 2007. |
The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.
| A．fifty weeks’ training |
| B．being a good sprinter |
| C．training almost every day |
| D．part motivation and part preparation |
What can we learn from Tanni’s success?
| A．Union is strength. | B．Never too late to learn. |
| C．Well begun is half done. | D．No pains, no gains. |
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