D
Why do we call the sounds of birds, whales and insects songs? Because something about what we hear seems to have beauty, and some mellifluous (动听的) structure that touches us more than any possible message. Though for many years science has cautioned against hearing too much of what we humans would like to hear when we are trying to understand animal sounds, the musicality in some sounds is now starting to have an effect on the science of animal communication itself.
Many specific animal sounds express aggression(进攻), warning, or food, but such practical explanations are tough to apply to the long songs. Some whale songs can go on for up to 24 hours. The usual explanation for birdsong is that the birds are singing to attract mates or to announce the limits of their area. But the audience is not always evident for these long love songs, which have many of the elements related to human music: rhythm, melody (旋律), themes, repeating patterns, organization, variety, interest — all adding up to something humans have found beautiful for thousands of years. “Birds taught man,” wrote Roman poet and philosopher (哲学家) Lucretius, “and taught them songs before their art began.”
What is the scientific value of such sounds? The advantage of hearing music in nature and trying to reach out to nature through music is that though we don’t fully understand it, it is so accessible.
Music refuses explanation, but it clearly expresses something deep and important, which humans can’t live without. Finding music in the sound of birds, whales and other animals makes the farther frontiers(边缘) of nature see much closer to us.The underlined phrase “cautioned against” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_______”.
| A．warned against |
| B．fought against |
| C．been filled with |
| D．been satisfied with |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．We call the songs of birds’ sounds because there is beauty that sounds pleasant to the ears. |
| B．It is believed that birds are singing to attract mates or to warn the limits of their areas. |
| C．The songs of a bird really carry an emotional message such as “aggression and caring”. |
| D．It is not very long for people to know that birdsong does have something beautiful. |
By saying “Birds taught man”, what did Lucretius mean?
| A．People teach rhythm, melody, themes, repeating patterns to birds. |
| B．Birds can teach people how to go on singing a song up to 24 hours. |
| C．Human music has, in fact, come from the sounds of birds in nature. |
| D．Humans learned something beautiful from the sounds of many animals. |
From the passage we know that music in nature ________.
| A．can’t be explained at all |
| B．is very easy to pick up and listen to |
| C．can’t be understood at all |
| D．is of no scientific value |
Throughout July 1945, the Japanese mainland, from Tokyo on Honshu northward to the coast of Hokkaido, were bombed as if an invasion were about to take place. In fact, something far more threatening was at hand, as the Americans were telling Stalin at Potsdam.（伯茨坦）
In 1939 physicists in the United States had learned of experiments in Germany showing the possibility of atomic power and understood the coming damage of an atomic bomb. On August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein warned President Roosevelt of the danger of Nazi Germany’s advances in development of the atomic bomb. Eventually, the U.S. Office of Scientific Research Development was created in June 1941 and given combined responsibility with the War Department in the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear bomb. After four years of research and development efforts, an atomic device was set off on July 16, 1945, in a desert area at Alamogordo, New Mexico, producing an explosive power equal to that of more than 15,000 tons of TNT. Thus, the atomic bomb was born. Truman, the new U.S. president, believed that this terrible object might be used to defeat Japan in a way less costly of U.S. lives than an ordinary invasion of the Japanese homeland. Japan’s unsatisfactory reply to the Allies’ Potsdam Declaration decided the matter.
On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb, carried from Tinian Island in the Mariana in a specially equipped B-29 was dropped on Hiroshima, at the southern end of Honshu. The combined heat and explosion destroyed everything in the explosion’s immediate neighbourhood , produced fires that burned out almost 4.4 square miles completely, and killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people, in addition to injuring more than 70,000 others. A second bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, killed between 35,000 and 40,000 people, injured a like number and ruined 1.8 square miles.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. |
| B．After research and development efforts, an atomic bomb was born. |
| C．An invasion was about to take place with the use of the atomic bomb. |
| D．The birth and use of the atomic bomb ended the Second World War. |
Albert Einstein warned Roosevelt of _________.
| A．Nazi Germany’ success in making an atomic bomb |
| B．the possibility of atomic power from Nazi Germany |
| C．Japan’s unsatisfactory reply to the Allies’ Potsdam Declaration |
| D．destruction of everything from the explosion of the atomic bomb |
What made the U.S. decide to drop the atomic bombs over Japan?
| A．Truman’s becoming the president of the United States. |
| B．The great destruction power of the atomic bomb. |
| C．Reducing the cost of its lives. |
| D．Not being content with Japan’s reply. |
How many people were killed by the two bombs dropped in Japan?
| A．Between 105,000 and 120,000 people. |
| B．Between 35,000 and 40,000 people. |
| C．Between 70,000 and 80,000 people. |
| D．Between 140,000 and 150,000 people. |
A desert is a beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and rocks are hard, and many of the plants even have hard needles instead of leaves.
The size and location of the world's deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 years, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest makers are humans.
Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their growth. Mauritania is planting a similar wall around Nouakchott, the capital. Iran puts a thin covering of oil on sandy areas and plants trees. The oil keeps the water and small trees in the land, and men on motorcycles keep the sheep and goats away. The USSR and India are building long canals to bring water to desert areas.In this passage, the underlined word “needles” refers to ________.
| A．small, thin pieces of steel |
| B．long, thin pieces of branches |
| C．thin, hard, pointed leaf |
| D．small, thin pieces of sticks |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The greatest desert makers are human beings. |
| B．There aren't any living things in the deserts. |
| C．Deserts have been changing quickly. |
| D．The size of the deserts is always growing. |
People in some countries are fighting a battle against ________.
| A．the growth of deserts |
| B．desert climate |
| C．natural changes |
| D．the disappearance of desert |
What does the author want to tell us?
| A．Deserts are lands of hardness, silence and space. |
| B．The deserts of the world are changing from time to time. |
| C．Man is to take measures to control the growth of deserts. |
| D．Deserts have grown at a fast pace in the past 10 years. |
Years ago there was a group of kids who would hang around at some local ponds（池塘） in the woods near their houses in Warwick, Rhode Island. In summer they caught frogs and fish. When winter arrived they couldn’t wait to go skating. Time passed, and the ponds became the only open space for the kids to enjoy themselves in that neighborhood.
One day a thirteen-year-old boy from this group of kids read in the local newspaper that a developer wanted to fill in the ponds and build over a hundred small houses called apartments. So the boy went door to door and gathered more than two hundred signatures to stop the development. A group of citizens met and decided to support him.
At the meeting of the town planning organization，the boy was quite nervous at first and spoke very softly. But when he saw the faces of his friends and neighbors in the crowd and thought about what was happening to their favorite ponds，his voice grew louder. He told the town officials that they should speak for the citizens. He also insisted that they should leave enough space for children. A few days later，the developer stopped his plan.
Nine years later, when that teen was a senior in college, he was informed that the developer was back with his proposal to build apartments. Now twenty-two years old, he was studying wetlands ecology. He again appeared before the town planning organization. This time as an expert, he used environmental protection laws to explain restrictions on development in and around wetlands and the knowledge of wetlands ecology to help to improve the development. Finally some apartments were built, but less than half the number the developer wanted. The ponds where those kids used to hang around were protected by a piece of natural land, and are still there today.The kids liked to ___________ at the local ponds in winter.
| A．make a snowman | B．throw snowballs |
| C．go skating | D．go skiing |
The boy thought that the town officials should be ___________ for the citizens.
| A．responsible | B．modest | C．anxious | D．thankful |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．The apartments were built as the developer had planned. |
| B．The grown-up boy helped to protect the wetlands as an expert. |
| C．The developer stopped the boy’s plan at the meeting years ago. |
| D．The ponds were filled in and some apartments were built on them. |
The underlined word “restrictions” in the last paragraph probably means________.
| A．rules | B．plans |
| C．advantages | D．limitations |
Do you love your holidays but hate the increase weight that follows? Your are not alone.
Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods, Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.
With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. That idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you.
Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a feast(宴会), have a small, low-fat snack（小吃）. This may help to keep you away from getting too excited before delicious foods. Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
Better not have high-fat foods. Dished that look oily or creamy have much fat in them.
Choose lean meat（瘦肉）. Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
If you have a sweet tooth, try mints（薄荷） and fruits. They don’t have fat content as cream and chocolate .
Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess（过多的） calories.
| A．bring weight problems |
| B．bring you much trouble in your life |
| C．make you worried about your foods |
| D．make you hate delicious foods |
| A．drink much water and have vegetables only |
| B．not eat the food in high fat |
| C．no t accept invitations to feasts |
| D．turn away from delicious foods |
| A．vegetables | B．water |
| C．calories of energy | D．physical exercise |
| A．enjoy delicious foods |
| B．go to many feasts |
| C．can’t control themselves . |
| D．can’t help turning away from the foods |
| A．how to eat properly during holidays |
| B．what you should remember in a feast |
| C．how to control your weight during holidays |
| D．the benefits of doing sports during holidays |
The Internet has become part of teenage life. There’s a report on 3375 students in seven Chinese cities. It says that 38% of them believe they use the Internet often. While most of them get useful information and use the Internet to help in their studies, some are not using it in a good way. Many are playing online games too much. A few even visit websites they should not look at. Bad things can happen if young people spend too much time on the Internet.
In order to help young people use the Internet in a good way, a textbook has been used in some Shanghai middle schools this term. It uses real examples to teach students all about good ways of using the Internet. It gives useful advice such as it’s good to read news or find helpful information to study. Some students also make online friends.
Teachers and parents all think the book is a very good idea. It will teach students how to be a good person in the online world. It will be a guide for teens using the Internet and keep students away from bad sites.
| A．38% | B．most | C．many | D．a few |
| A．With real examples. | B．With pictures. |
| C．With music. | D．With tapes. |
| A．Read news. | B．Find information. |
| C．Make friends. | D．Watch films. |
| A．It’s a very good idea. |
| B．It’s a foolish idea. |
| C．It keeps students looking at bad sites. |
| D．It can’t teach students how to be good. |
| A．all the students can use the Internet in a right way |
| B．when the teenagers use the Internet, they don’t need any guidance |
| C．The Internet plays an important part in teenagers’ lives |
| D．The Internet can always be good for teenagers |
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