Once there was a man travelling in a faraway village. As he was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped. He found that these huge elephants were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains(锁链), no cages. It was clear that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their ropes but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and didn’t try to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they still believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can hold them, so they never try to break free.”
How could it be? These animals could at any time break free from their ropes. But because they were always stuck(固定) right where they were, they believed they couldn’t.
Just like the elephants, how many of us go through life believing that we cannot do something, just because we failed at it once before?
We should never give up the struggle(斗争) in life.What did the writer see in the village？
| A．Chains | B．Elephants. |
| C．Cages. | D．Farmers. |
Why do the elephants never try to break free from the ropes?
| A．Because they think they can not.. |
| B．Because they are too old to do it. |
| C．Because they like their living places. |
| D．Because they get on well with the trainer. |
How did the man feel after he heard what the trainer said?
| A．Moved. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Angry. | D．Nervous. |
Which of the following is the missing part(空白处) in the last paragraph?
| A．Failing is part of learning |
| B．We should be different from others |
| C．Helping animals is helping ourselves |
| D．Travelling always makes people relaxed |
What is the best title for this text?
| A．A Pleasant Trip | B．A Cruel Trainer |
| C．Elephant Training | D．The Elephant Rope |
阅读理解
A recent research shows that physical activity(体育活动)may help students do better in their classes．The research comes because educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like P．E．class．
Researchers go over the results of fourteen studies．Twelve were from the United States，one from Canada and one from South Africa．The studies appeared between 2009 and 2013．They included more than 55，000 children，aged six to eighteen．
Thomas Singh，one of the researchers，says the studies showed a relationship between physical activity and scores on subjects such as math，English and reading．Mr．Singh offers some possible explanations(解释)：
There are，first，physiological(生理的)explanations，like more blood flow，and so more oxygen(氧气)to the brain．Being physically active means there are more hormones(荷尔蒙)produced，like endorphins(脑内啡)．And endorphins make your stress level lower and your mood improved，which means you will perform better in class．Also，students who take part in organized sports learn rules and how to follow them．This could improve their classroom behavior and help them know what they should do．
All in all，the finding tells us that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school．Mr．Singh says schools should consider the finding before they cut physical education programs．What led the researchers to do the studies？
| A．Schools’cutting physical activity． |
| B．Their interest in physical activity． |
| C．The tests including about 55，000 children． |
| D．Kids’unsatisfying schooling performance． |
How many countries took part in the studies？
| A．14． |
| B．12． |
| C．2． |
| D．3． |
Which of the following is NOT one of the advantages of physical activity according to the passage？
| A．Getting more blood flow． |
| B．Better classroom behavior． |
| C．Feeling relaxed and refreshed． |
| D．Greater ability to organize activities． |
任务型阅读
阅读短文，填写表格．每空一词。
In common with many countries，Britain has serious environmental problems．In 1952，more than 4，000 people died in London because of the smog．The government introduced new laws to stop smog from coal fires and factories and the situation improved a lot．
Today，London is much cleaner but there is a new problem：the smog from cars．In December 199（1）there was very little wind in London and pollution increased a lot．As a result，about 160 people died from pollution in just four days．
Part of the problem is the new“out of town”shopping centers．In the past，people often walked to shops near their home or went by bus．Now，many people drive to the new shopping centers．As a result，the small shops have disappeared and more people have to travel to do their shopping．
Critics(评论员)say that Britain needs better and cheaper public transport．Transport in Britain is very expensive．An early morning train trip from Glasgow to London(about 600 km)can cost about 100 pounds，for example．A short 15－minute bus trip can cost over 1.00 pound．
Many people are trying to reduce the use of cars in Britain．Some cities now have special bicycle paths and many people cycle to work．Some people also travel to work together in one car to reduce the pollution and the cost．
| Environmental problems in________ |
|||
| Time |
Causes |
Results |
Solutions |
| In the past |
Smog from coal ________ and factories． |
________4，000 people died in 195（2） |
New laws were introduced． |
| Today |
Smog caused by ____4___． |
About 160 people died in a few days in 1991 |
●Provide________and cheaper public transport． ●Build special paths for bicycles． ●Travel to work together in one car． |
（1）________ （2）________ （3）________
（4）________ （5）________
阅读理解(2013温州)
It is widely agreed that the overuse of fossil fuels，such as coal and oil has caused serious environmental problems．Scientists are trying to find new clean energies that do not pollute the air，the water or the ground．Solar power is one of them．
Solar power is a kind of electricity which is produced by taking energy from the sun，using solar panels．The solar panels are usually fixed on the roofs of houses and buildings．It is the family solar power system．Some countries are even beginning to build solar power plants by setting thousands of solar panels in the places where there is enough sunshine．Solar power has many advantages．The power is easy to get and will never be used up．Whenever it is sunny，there is the power．The power is clean and renewable．It helps to reduce waste and pollution，which is great for the environment．In the areas that are too far away to send electricity to or not easy to build electric power plants，solar power is especially necessary．It enables the people there to use lights，TVs，computers，washing machines，fridges and many other things．
Therefore，more and more countries，such as China，the USA，Japan and India，encourage scientists to develop practical technology to put solar power to use．However，the power is not as widely used as expected．
One of the challenges is that a solar power system needs sunshine．Countries or areas with a lot of rain，like the UK，are not suitable to develop such power systems．Secondly，a solar power plant requires a very large site to fix enough solar panels to collect sunlight and change it into electricity．Maybe an area in the desert would be one of the perfect places for such a plant to build．What’s more，solar panels are expensive at present though the energy itself doesn’t cost anything．
Today scientists are working hard to develop more practical and cheaper solar power systems．Maybe one day solar power will be one of the most important clean energies in our life．Solar power is a kind of energy taken from________．
| A．the air |
| B．the sun |
| C．the water |
| D．the ground |
The underlined word“reduce”probably means________．
| A．to make something less |
| B．to make something better |
| C．to make something more |
| D．to make something cleaner |
What is the fourth paragraph of the passage mainly about？
| A．The ways to use solar power． |
| B．The advantages of solar power． |
| C．The places to build the solar power plants． |
| D．The difficulties of putting solar power to use widely． |
What can we learn from the passage？
| A．Solar energy itself is expensive． |
| B．Solar power will be used up very soon． |
| C．Solar power is a kind of clean and useful energy． |
| D．Solar power is much better than the other energies． |
阅读理解(2014山西)
What does it mean to be green？“Green”is more than just a color．It also means taking special steps to protect the environment—the water，the land，and the air we breathe．Why green？Plants are green，and without them the earth wouldn’t be such a lovely home for us human beings．
Sometimes people call ours a“throw—away society”．That means we are always throwing away old things and buying new ones．Many times，if you no longer need something，someone else just might need it．For example，if your brother is old enough not to play with his plastic bike，why not give it to another family who has a little kid so that they don’t need to buy one？And one less large plastic toy doesn’t need to be produced．
Recycling(回收利用)has never been easier．Many organizations will pick it up right in front of your house and some towns even require(要求)it．Tell your mom or dad you want to become“Chief of Recycling”for your family．Now that you know what things you can recycle，find a place to keep them．Make sure you encourage everyone in your house to think whether things can be reused or recycled before they’re thrown away．
Almost everyone likes traveling．But next time before you travel around the world，take a look at your own backyard．Is there a place where you could plant a tree or put in a little fruit or vegetable garden？If so，get there and get your hands dirty．Then you can watch with pride as your tree takes root，and your garden plants grow into big plants full of ripe，red tomatoes or tiny，juicy blueberries．Who knew being green would taste so good？
In the first paragraph，the writer introduces the topic of the passage by________．
A．telling an interesting story
B．explaining the word“green”
C．giving some special examplesIn a“throw－away”society，________．
A．people shouldn’t produce any plastic things
B．people can get anything they want from others
C．people always throw away the used things and buy new onesTo be“Chief of Recycling”．you should________．
A．recycle things all by yourself
B．ask your family to use the old things all the time
C．find a place to keep the things that can be recycledYou are advised to run a fruit or vegetable garden in order to________．
A．creat a green environment
B．make a lot of money
C．get your hands dirtyThe purpose of the passage is to tell us that________．
A．we must enjoy nature
B．we had better eat more green food
C．we should protect our environment
阅读理解
Rachel Carson was born in the USA on May 27，1907．Her mother，Maria Carson，had been a schoolteacher．She loved books．She also loved nature．She showed Rachel the beauty of nature．
She also taught Rachel a deep love for books．As a quiet child，Rachel liked to read and write stories．At a very early age，she decided she wanted to be a writer some day．Her story first appeared in a children’s magazine when she was ten years old．
Her first book，Under the Sea Wind came out in 194（1）In 1948．Miss Carson began working on another book，The Sea Around Us．She always researched carefully when she wrote．She collected information from more than one thousand places to write The Sea Around Us．When the book came out in 1951。it won the National Book Award．It was No.1 on the best－seller list for more than a year．The Sea Around Us made Rachel Carson famous．
Rachel Carson’s most famous book，Silent Spring came out in 196（2）In this book，she pointed out that the use of some kinds of pesticides(杀虫剂)like DDT would cause the number of birds to decline because it would kill them as well．Finally，in November 1969，the United States government，decided that the use of DDT must stop in two years．
Rachel Carson has been regarded as a great environmentalist(环保主义者)and writer．She will be remembered by the world．Rachel Carson had a deep love for nature and books because of________．
| A．her father |
| B．her mother |
| C．her schoolteacher |
| D．her brother |
Rachel decided that she wanted to be a writer when________．
| A．she was very young |
| B．she was in college |
| C．she became a teacher |
| D．she became famous |
The Chinese meaning of the word“decline”in this passage is probably“________”．
| A．增加 |
| B．减少 |
| C．维持 |
| D．翻番 |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage？
| A．Rachel Carson was a careful and serious writer． |
| B．The Sea Around Us won the National Book Award． |
| C．In Silent Spring Rachel said some pesticides were bad for the environment． |
| D．The use of DDT was stopped as soon as the book Silent Spring came out． |
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