Why would an animal kill itself? It seems a strange question, and yet it is one that has made some scientists curious for a long time. For there is a kind of animal called lemming（旅鼠）, that periodically killed themselves together, and no one knows just why!
The small creatures which live in the Scandinavian mountains, feed on a diet of roots and special insects and live in nests they dig underground. When their food supply is large, the lemmings live a normal and undisturbed life.
However, when the lemmings’ food supply becomes too low to support the population, a singular migration（迁徙）begins. The lemmings leave their nests in groups. Great numbers of them begin to travel across the Scandinavian plains, a journey that may last weeks. The lemmings eat everything in their path, continuing their long march until they reach the sea.
The reason for what follows remains unbelievable to naturalists. Upon reaching the coast, the lemmings do not stop but swim by the thousands into the sea. Most stay afloat only a short time before they tire, sink and drown.
A common theory for this mass self-killing is that the lemmings do not realize that the ocean is such a huge body of water in their cross-country journey, the animals must cross many smaller bodies of water, such as rivers and small lakes. They may think that the sea is just another such swimmable path to go through. But no final answer has been found to the strange happening. The passage is mainly about______.
| A．how lemmings find food |
| B．why animals kill themselves |
| C．the lemmings’ self-killing |
| D．the food supply in the Scandinavian mountains |
A reason for the lemmings’ self-killing might be that they______.
| A．go mad from a lack of food |
| B．hope to find fish for food |
| C．decide to reduce the population |
| D．think they can cross the sea |
Why are scientists curious about the lemmings’ behavior?
| A．Because they are the only animals that live in Scandinavia. |
| B．Because it is very unusual for animals to kill themselves. |
| C．Because of the amount of food they can eat on their march to the sea. |
| D．Because they can gather together in such huge numbers. |
The underlined word “singular” means______.
| A．unusual | B．single | C．wonderful | D．common |
Like many new graduates, I left university full of hope for the future but with no real idea of what I wanted to do．My degree, with honors, in English literature had not really prepared me for anything practical．I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world somehow, but I had no idea how to do that．That’s when I learned about the Light house Project．
I started my journey as a Lighthouse Project volunteer by reading as much as I could about the experiences of previous volunteers．I knew it would be a lot of hard work, and that I would be away from my family and friends for a very long time．In short, I did not take my decision to apply for the Lighthouse Project lightly．Neither did my family．
Eventually, however, I won the support of my family, and I sent in all the paperwork needed for the application．After countless interviews and presentations, I managed to stand out among the candidates and survive the test alone．Several months later, I finally received a call asking me to report for the duty．I would be going to a small village near Abuja, Nigeria．Where? What? Nigeria? I had no idea．But I was about to find out．
After completing my training, I was sent to the village that was small and desperately in need of proper accommodation．Though the local villagers were poor, they offered their homes, hearts, and food as if I were their own family．I was asked to lead a small team of local people in building a new schoolhouse．For the next year or so, I taught in that same schoolhouse．But I sometimes think I learned more from my students than they did from me．
Sometime during that period, I realized that all those things that had seemed so strange or unusual to me no longer did, though I did not get anywhere with the local language, and returned to the United States a different man．The Lighthouse Project had changed my life forever．What do we know about the author?
| A．His university education focused on the theoretical knowledge． |
| B．His dream at university was to become a volunteer． |
| C．He took pride in having contributed to the world． |
| D．He felt honored to study English literature． |
According to the Paragraph 2, it is most likely that the author
| A．discussed his decision with his family． |
| B．asked previous volunteers about voluntary work |
| C．attended special training to perform difficult tasks |
| D．felt sad about having to leave his family and friends |
In his application for the volunteer job, the author
| A．participated in many discussions |
| B．went through challenging survival tests |
| C．wrote quite a few papers on voluntary work |
| D．faced strong competition from other candidates |
On arrival at the village, the author was
| A．asked to lead a farming team |
| B．sent to teach in a schoolhouse |
| C．received warmly by local villagers |
| D．arranged to live in a separate house． |
What can we infer from the author’s experiences in Nigeria?
| A．He found some difficulty adapting to the local culture |
| B．He had learned to communicate in the local language． |
| C．He had overcome all his weaknesses before he left for home． |
| D．He was chosen as the most respectable teacher by his students． |
Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you had a hundred dollars less．Also imagine what it would be like spending the rest of your life with you eyes closed．Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your finger-tips．
With existing medical knowledge and skills, two-thirds of the world’s 42 million blind should not have to suffer．Unfortunately, rich countries posses most of this knowledge, while developing countries do not．
ORBIS is an international non-profit organization which operates the world’s only flying teaching eye hospital．ORBIS intends to help fight blindness worldwide．Inside a DC-8 aircraft, there is a fully-equipped teaching hospital with television studio and classroom．Doctors are taught the latest techniques of bringing sight back to people there．Project ORBIS also aims at promoting peaceful cooperation（合作） among countries．
ORBIS tries to help developing countries by providing training during three-week medical programs．ORBIS has taught sight-saving techniques to over 35,000 doctors and nurses, who continue to cure tens of thousands of blind people every year．ORBIS has conducted 17 plane programs is China so far．For the seven to ten million blind in China ORBIS is planning to do more for them．At the moment an ORBIS is working on a long-term plan to develop a training center and to provide eye care service to Shanxi Province．ORBIS needs your help to continue their work and free people from blindness．
For just US$38,you can help one person see; for $380 you can bring sight to 10 people; $1,300 helps teach a doctor new skills; and for $13,000 you can provide a training program for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again．Your money can open their eyes to the world．Please help ORBIS improve the quality of life for so many people less fortunate than ourselves．The first paragraph is intended to ______．
| A．introduce a new way of reading |
| B．advise the public to lead a simple life |
| C．direct the public’s attention to the blind |
| D．encourage the public to use imagination |
What do we learn about existing medical knowledge and skills in the world?
| A．They are adequate |
| B．They have not been updated． |
| C．They are not equally distributed |
| D．They have benefited most of the blind |
ORBIS aims to help the blind by ______．
| A．teaching medical students |
| B．training doctors and nurses |
| C．running flying hospitals globally |
| D．setting up non-profit organization |
What does the author try to do in the last paragraph?
| A．Appeal for donations | B．Make an advertisement |
| C．Promote training programs | D．Show sympathy for the blind |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．ORBIS in China | B．Fighting Blindness |
| C．ORBIS Flying Hospital | D．Sight-saving Techniques |
There are 67 counties in the state of Alabama．Each county is rich with history and its own unique stories．Colbert County, located in the northwest corner of the state, has its share of exciting stories and claims to statewide fame．The county was created on February 6, 1867, and Tuscumbia became the county seat （the town in which the offices of the county government are located）．
One of the most famous residents of Tuscumbia was Helen Keller．Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880．Her home was a white frame cottage built by her grandparents．Since ivy （常春藤） grew everywhere, the house was called Ivy Green．It was here, at the water pump in the backyard, that Keller learned the word “w-a-t-e-r” with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan．Visitors to Ivy Green can walk under boxwood trees that are 150 years old．The home has furniture that the Keller family used．It also has Keller’s Braille （盲文） books and her original Braille typewriter．
Spring Park is Tuscumbia’s most popular park and favorite tourist attraction．This park has the world’s largest manufactured waterfall called Coldwater Falls．The Spring Park Light and Water Show is an amazing sight to see．It takes place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at sundown．The water appears to dance to music and colored lights．The music played during the show is recorded by singers and musicians from Alabama．
Fame Recording Studios is in the city of Muscle Shoals in Colbert County．The studio is the first successful recording studio in Alabama．It is best known for creating “Southern rock,” “Southern soul,” and “county soul．” Well-known performers like Aretha Franklin and musical groups such as Alabama and Lynyrd have made recordings at this studio．
Visitors can continue to explore music in Alabama by visiting the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia．Built in 1990, this site recognizes the musical talents of more than 500 Alabama residents in a wide variety of musical styles, including country and rhythm and blues．
Truly, Colbert County has a lot of wonderful locations to visit．Guests will not be disappointed in a visit to this delightful place．Which of the following is TRUE about Alabama and music?
| A．Alabama musicians have established exhibits for visitors． |
| B．There are a great many talented musicians in Alabama． |
| C．Music is the most important industry in Alabama． |
| D．Alabama residents enjoy listening to music． |
How many locations related to music in Colbert County are mentioned in the text?
| A．1． | B．2． | C．3． | D．4． |
The author writes the text mainly to persuade the reader __________．
| A．to learn from Helen Keller |
| B．to visit businesses in Alabama |
| C．to stop for a visit in Colbert County |
| D．to listen to Southern styles of music |
The text is most probably taken from __________．
| A．a story book | B．a book review |
| C．a personal diary | D．a travel magazine |
C
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NEMS |
NEWRI Environmental Master of Science |
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| NEWRI: Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute |
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| Be a leader in environmental science and engineering through the NEMS programme |
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| NEWRI Environmental Master of Science （NEMS） is a primary graduate education and research programme conducted by Nanyang Technological University’s （NTU’s） NEWRI, with summer attachment at Stanford University．It aims to train engineers and scientists to meet the increasing environmental challenges for Asia and the wider region． |
NEWRI-Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute NEWRI is enabling Singapore to be a global center of environmental science and technology in providing technological solutions to the world．It is committed to environmental and water technologies through its ecosystem of education, research and developmental activities． NEWRI is trying its best to pull together NTU’s water and environment-related centers and institutes, gathering one another’s strengths for the benefit of industry and society． |
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| Master of Science Applications ● Applications open now and close on 30 May 2013 for Singapore applicants． ● Graduates having relevant engineering or science background, including final-year students, are invited to apply． ● Applicants are required to have a certificate of GRE． Further information and application materials are available at the Website: http:// www．Cee．ntu．edu．sg/Graduate/NEMS |
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| Highlights of Programme: ★Students spend a full summer term at Stanford taking regular courses and continue with the rest of their academic programme at NTU． ★It is a 12-month full-time course in environmental science & engineering． ★Students under NEMS will have opportunities to do research projects under NEWRI as well as to continue for the Doctor’s degree． ★Graduating students receive the NTU degree and a certificate from Stanford for their summer attachment． |
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| Scholarship for tuition grants and living expenses at both Stanford and NTU are available |
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| Enquiry contact: Ms Christian Soh Tel：（65） 6861 0507 Fax:（65） 68614606 Email: nems@ntu．edu．sg Information on other graduate programmes available at： www．ntu．edu．sg/cee/program/postgrad．asp |
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If one wants to apply for the NEMS programme, it is essential for him to __________．
| A．make contact with Ms Soh |
| B．have passed the GRE test |
| C．possess a university diploma |
| D．major in engineering or science |
Students admitted to the NEMS Programme __________．
| A．are required to obtain a Doctor’s degree |
| B．will first have regular courses at Stanford |
| C．needn’t be released from their regular jobs |
| D．can receive degrees of both NTU and Stanford |
What’s the main purpose of the NEMS programme?
| A．To offer scholarship for tuition grants and living expenses． |
| B．To strengthen the cooperation between NTU and Stanford． |
| C．To introduce Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute． |
| D．To train experts on environmental science and engineering． |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．30 May 2012 is the deadline for NEMS application． |
| B．Applicants for NEMS should have relevant work experience． |
| C．Other centers and institutes for environmental and water technologies also exist in NTU |
| D．Singapore is the global center of environmental science and technology． |
A study of more than five million books, both fiction and non-fiction, has found a marked decline in the use of emotional words over time．The researchers form the University of Bristol used Google Ngram Viewer, a facility for finding the frequency of terms in scanned books, to search for more than 600 particular words identified as representing anger, dislike, fear, joy, sadness and surprise．
They found that almost all of the categories showed a drop in these “mood words” over time．Only in the category of fear was there an increase in usage．
“It is a steady and continuous decrease,” said Dr Alberto Acerbi．He assumed that the result might be explained by a change in the position occupied by literature, in a crowded media landscape．“One thing could be that in parallel to books the 20th century saw the start of other media．Maybe these media — movies, radio, drama, had more emotional content than books．”
Although both joy and sadness followed the general downwards trend, the research, published in the journal PLOS One, found that they also exhibited another interesting behaviour：the ratio （比率） between the two varied greatly, apparently mirroring historical events．
During the Roaring Twenties the joy-to-sadness ratio reached a peak that would not occur again until before the recent financial crash．But the ratio plunged at the height of the Second World War．Nevertheless, the researchers held a reserved opinion about their claim that their result reflected wider social trends．In the paper, they even argue that the reverse could be true．
“It has been suggested, for example, that it was the suppression （压抑） of desire in ordinary Elizabethan English life that increased demand for writing ‘filled with romance and sex’… perhaps,” they conclude, “songs and books may not reflect the real population any more than catwalk models reflect the average body．”The word "decline" （paragraph 1） is closest in meaning to_________．
| A．increase | B．rise | C．decrease | D．change |
A study of more than five million books indicated a decrease in “mood words” over time except_______．
| A．in the use of the words of historical events |
| B．in the category of fear |
| C．in the category of literature |
| D．in the category of joy |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．A study of emotional words． |
| B．A study about vocabulary in literature． |
| C．Reasons for the use of emotional words decreases in literature． |
| D．A study on increase in the category of fear． |
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