Around 200 million years ago, the earth was 18 degrees warmer than it is now. That might be a bit hot for humans, but it was just right for the giant dinosaurs that wandered about the earth during the Mesozoic (中生代的) era. A new study found that planteating dinosaurs may have contributed to the warming of the earthby releasing significant amounts of methane (甲烷)．
The study, published in science journal Current Biology, focused on sauropods, longnecked herbivores (食草动物) that munched (用力咀嚼) on the top of trees. They were the largest of the dinosaurs; food broke down in their stomachs for long periods of time. The researchers estimate that a sauropoda released 2,675 liters of methane per day—adding up to a large amount of the greenhouse gas being pumped from dinosaur's gut into the atmosphere.
Plant eaters naturally release methane as part of their digestive process. The larger the animal, the more methane it produces. Methane, a greenhouse gas, traps heat and remains in the atmosphere for approximately 915 years, which warms the atmosphere.
Today, some animals, such as cattle, goats and sheep, produce large amounts of methane as a byproduct to their food digestion. Methane is also released from human—influenced sources such as landfill, agricultural activities, coal mining and other industrial practices—which all contribute to today's climate change, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The researchers estimate that earth's sauropods would have produced about 520 million tons of methane per year—similar to the total amount of methane produced today by natural and manmade sources. However, the researchers warn that their numbers are estimates based on multiple assumptions about the digestive systems and populations of dinosaurs.
The author of the study David Wilkinson says the emission of methane from dinosaurs would have been just one of the causes of warm climate during the Mesozoic era. Other causes include gases produced from volcanoes, swamps, shallow seas and so on. Still, Wilkinson says，“ The amount of methane from dinosaurs is large enough to have a measurable effect.”Scientists think dinosaurs may have led to the global warming because ________.
| A．they ate everything they found |
| B．they usually had a good appetite |
| C．they released a lot of methane |
| D．there were too many dinosaurs on earth |
What do we know about dinosaurs from Paragraph 2?
| A．Sauropods fed on plants. |
| B．Sauropods were of medium size. |
| C．Dinosaurs used to live on trees. |
| D．Dinosaurs digested food quickly. |
Which of the following activities doesn't produce methane?
| A．Coal is dug out by machine. |
| B．Trees and flowers are planted. |
| C．Goats digest grass under the tree. |
| D．Food is being processed in the factory. |
How does the author make his writing reliable?
| A．By listing some facts. |
| B．By making predictions. |
| C．By citing figures. |
| D．By using mind pictures. |
David Wilkinson seems to believe that ________.
| A．methane had little effects on the earth |
| B．many other factors contributed to warm climate |
| C．other causes for warm climate were worth considering |
| D．dinosaurs were mainly to blame for global warming |
B
It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and Maggie and I were returning from our walk through the woods. We were only a couple of blocks from home when I spotted a cellphone and credit card sitting on the road. We took them home. We find amazing things on the street. She looks upon it as a movable dinner. Chicken wings here and there.
I found another cellphone a few years back, too, and called a number in its phone book. I explained the situation to the guy who answered. He said it was his sister’s and that he'd swing by to pick it up, which he did.
And that was that. No verbal (口头的) thank-you, no written thank-you, no “here’s a box of chocolates” thank-you.
I didn’t have time to call anyone on my latest found cellphone. I was pouring myself coffee when it started to vibrate (颤动) and dance across the kitchen counter.
“Who’s this?” someone asked when I picked up.
“Who’s this?” I countered. “Sarah?”
She was taken aback until she realized her name was on the credit card I also had recovered. “Could you send it to me?” she asked.
She lives in Arlington, which is 2 miles from my house.
“Hmm, no,” I replied, adding that I thought she could come get them, and that if I wasn’t home, they would be in my mailbox.
A day later, when I was out for a run, someone retrieved them. But I got nothing. In this age of e-mail and cellphones, there’s really no excuse.
Years ago, I found something more precious than a $100 bill on the street: a driver’s license. I saw that its owner lived a couple of blocks from me, so I called him up. He asked whether I could slip the license through his front door.
“I guess I could,” I replied.
And that was that.
61. What would be the best title for the text?
A. Several Experiences of My Own
B. “Thank You” Is Becoming More Priceless
C. It’s Polite to Thank the Finders
D. Only Losers Lack “Thank” for Finders
62. According to the text, it can be inferred that Maggie should be ______.
A. the author’s wife B. the author’s pet
C. the author’s best friend D. the author’s son
63. The author didn’t call anyone on his latest found cellphone because ______.
A. it wasn’t worth to do B. he wanted to keep it as his own
C. he was busy then D. he didn’t know its owner
64. The underlined word “retrieved” in the tenth paragraph means “______”.
A. got back B. returned C. lost D. threw away
65. How does the author feel when he told his last experience about the driver’s license?
A. Disappointed. B. Helpless. C. Encouraged. D. Hopeful.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
We bet that on cold wintry days, many of you love to stay in your warm home and, every now and then, come out into the kitchen for a snack. Unfortunately, plenty of creepy-crawly critters(爬行生物) like to do the same thing!
Winter is the time when bugs (虫子) invade your house without an invitation. The season can be tough for such creatures. In winter the air is cold, the ground is hard and many trees have no leaves. So bugs do what they have to do to survive.
Monarch butterflies head south to warmer climates. Ants crowd in deep underground colonies and eat food they have been storing all year. Many insects go into a deep sleep called diapause. There’re different kinds of diapause, but all are similar to hibernation, a time when bigger animals become inactive in the cold. Insects go into an inactive period, too, but it often isn’t when the temperature drops.
They rely on more dependable signals in the environment. For example, many insects can tell how much sunlight there’s each day. They use that to tell them when to shut down. Bugs are cold-blooded, meaning that their inside temperature is the same as the outside. They can’t move much when it gets below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So they search for any warm place.
They’re looking for protection. These guys have been doing this for 300 million years, so they don’t really know they’re coming into your house. The home is a recent event in terms of their evolutionary behavior. They enter through tiny cracks or come in unnoticed on your clothes or shoes. Remember that they may be invading your homes for warmth and food, but they don’t care about humans.
56. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?
A. To point out that humans like to stay at home in winter.
B. To mean that humans and bugs have the same living habits.
C. To mean that bugs will invade the house for their winter.
D. To put forward the idea that bugs are not welcome in winter.
57. According to the text, what is diapause?
A. It is the same as the animals’ hibernation.
B. It often appears in warm areas all the year.
C. It is done to keep bugs active in winter.
D. It is a deep sleep similar to hibernation.
58. What often decides bugs’ diapause?
A. The lower local temperatures. B. The amounts of sunlight.
C. Kinds of environmental signals. D. The insects’ inside temperature.
59. According to the text, bugs invade humans’ homes to ______.
A. attack humans B. look for enough food
C. seek for protection D. show their evolutionary results
60. What would be the best title for the text?
A. Bugs’ life on cold wintry days
B. Why bugs invade your home in winter?
C. Good relations between humans and bugs
D. What does diapause mean?
Are you nervous about climbing because you think it's too dangerous? Do you feel you're not fit enough to climb? Do you know how to start climbing?
Let's consider the idea that climbing is dangerous．Being afraid is natural, but if you use suitable ropes and other climbing equipments you will feel completely safe．Climbers are usually very careful because they know what they are doing is dangerous．Accidents happen, but when they do, they tend to attract a lot of publicity．As a result, people think there are many more accidents than there are in reality．
You cannot expect to start climbing straight away．Climbing is a challenge and challenges take time．It is necessary first of all that you achieve a good level of fitness．Begin as soon as you become interested in climbing? go to the gym, go swimming, take up jogging and continue to do so throughout your training period．
Discover as much as you can about climbing．Visit the library and find book, especially for beginners or buy climbing magazines and look for articles which describe your situation．Look up information on the Internet．Find out about equipment, methods and places to go．
Next, take a course on a climbing wall．There are plenty of climbing walls all over the country which have trained and qualified people as instructors．Call your local leisure centre to find out if there is one in your area. These training sessions are a quick way to get experience and you are likely to meet other beginners. After this, you can do an outside course of join a club where you can meet climbers of all abilities and eventually join in group-climbing events.
At first you may not understand the importance of a good training period, but after you have completed your first climb and you are standing safely at the top of a rock feeling thrilled, then you will know it was the right thing to do.The article is written by .
| A．a doctor | B．an experienced climber |
| C．a beginner | D．a fitness instructor |
The writer thinks a new climber should .
| A．begin by becoming fit |
| B．have the courage to meet the challenges |
| C．be aware of the causes of the accidents |
| D．do enough sports to get interested in climbing |
By climbing walls you can .
| A．join a club you like |
| B．gain controlled experience |
| C．become qualified instructors |
| D．take part in group-climbing events |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph probably means .
| A．the climb | B．the training | C．the equipment | D．the achievement |
“Love your neighbor as yourself”is a saying familiar to most of us. It means that you must have he ability to love and accept yourself in order to form and keep satisfying relationship with others self-esteem means accepting yourself for who you really are, and believing that you are indeed a worthwhile person who is deserving of love and respect from others.
Self-esteem is our sense of how good we feel about ourselves. It is based on our judgment of ourselves, not on other people's assessment, but simply on our own. Our self-esteem is not dependant on our talent. Some very ordinary people feel very good about themselves, while other extraordinarily high achievers hold low opinions of themselves.
Self-esteem is the primary key to long-term stress management. Why? The first three sources of stress are: predictable life event, unexpected changes and build-up of daily stresses, These are much easier to handle when we believe in ourselves, A positive, healthy self-esteem gives us the “hardiness”(强健) to deal with the difficulties of life, and to see them as challenges to be met, rather than threats to be feared.
The forth category of stress is entirely the result of a low self-esteem. It is the category of stress that is most common and tiring over the long run. This kind of stress cannot be overcome, or even changed, until the self-esteem problems that cause it are corrected.
Learning to love yourself for who you are is the key to overcoming stress. Self-esteem comes form the self, and cannot be promoted by others. A person who feels that his self-esteem comes from the approval of those around him or her is bound to self-destruct(自毁), One cannot keep the level of “performance” required to please everyone else, especially if that performance disagrees with who you are and is simply a facade that makes you popular with the world. When the applause is gone, there is nothing left.
Only those who can feel the strength of knowing who they are and those who can feel good about that will survive the stresses of life. Self-esteem is the basis of contentment and positive living.What is self-esteem?
| A．A kind of positive lifestyle. |
| B．The impression we have on other people. |
| C．Our sense of how good we feel about ourselves. |
| D．Our understanding of how we are seen by others. |
What is the key to overcoming stress according to the passage?
| A．Removing yourself from stressful situation． |
| B．Learning to love yourself for who you are． |
| C．Facing the stress and dealing with it． |
| D．Getting help from friends． |
What does the underlined word "facade" （in Para 5） mean?
| A．A false appearance． | B．A big worry． |
| C．A wrong action． | D．A strange feeling． |
The passage is written to ______．
| A．tell people how to overcome stress |
| B．help people form good relationship with others |
| C．show the importance of feeling good about yourself |
| D．provide the different methods to get a clear view of yourself |
In February 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their village in northern Canada．The sound of children shouting made her turn around．To her horror, Lydia saw a 700-pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son．Getting between the bear and her child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away．She then began hitting and kicking the animal as hard as she could．A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear．But everyone agreed it was Lydia who had saved her children's lives．A local policeman described it this way: “…I guess when your back is up against the wall…we come up with super-human strength．”
Where does this “super-human strength”，courage and quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressful situations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action．These chemicals give people the speed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it．
When we think of stress, we usually think of its negative effects．Studies, though, show that moderate levels of stress are actually helpful．In fact, the way we perform is usually affected by the amount of stress we feel．
Stress causes the brain to release adrenaline（肾上腺素）which in turn increases our energy and excitement．The chemical gives us clearer minds and helps us to do more．This is why some people say they work better under a deadline．
Adrenaline that is not released for long periods of time can cause us to increase and strengthen our abilities instead of weakening them．We sometimes turn out our very best work when we push ourselves to the limit．Stress can also make us more confident．Handling small amounts of stress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future．Who knows? Today's stress may even prepare for the next polar bear that comes along!In the first paragraph, the case of Lydia Angyiou is mentioned to ______．
| A．introduce the topic to be followed |
| B．praise Lydia Angyiou for her bravery |
| C．remind us of the unexpected danger of life |
| D．show the importance of super-human strength |
What does the policeman probably mean by saying "your back is up against the wall"?
| A．You are helped． | B．You are inspired． |
| C．You are confident． | D．You are cornered． |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Brave Mother | B．The Cause of Stress |
| C．The Benefit of Stress | D．Super-human Strength |
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