People used to think that wetlands were wasted land. Developers would drain them with ditches（水沟），fill them in with tons of soil，and build houses，schools，and parking areas on them.Then scientists began to realize the important role wetlands played in the environment.
Wetlands act like giant sponges（海绵） during storms.They soak up extra storm water and afterward release it slowly back into the water cycle.This helps prevent flooding. Towns where people have drained wetlands have found that in a big storm，their streets and homes are often flooded because there are no wetlands to soak up the excess water.
Wetlands also act as giant filters where pollutants are absorbed and dissolved over time.Though wetlands can become polluted from dumping，wastewater，and fertilizer runoff from farm fields，they are able to process some pollutants over time because of all the microorganisms and plants living there.
Wetlands are especially important for providing homes and breeding grounds to millions of birds，fish，and amphibians worldwide. Many wetlands have become national wildlife refuges（避难所），where you can go to take pictures and look at birds and animals.
The Everglades are a huge wetland that once covered more than four million acres of southern Florida. Sometimes called the “river of grass”，the Everglades are a shallow sheet of water that slowly flowed across a grassy plain. In the late 1800s people began draining parts of the Everglades for development. Roads were built and towns sprang up.The Everglades shrank to half its original size. Cities like Miami grew up where once there was a thriving wetland. Sewage and waste from the cities were pumped into the remaining wetlands. Over time scientists began to see the importance of the Everglades. Even with its smaller size，the Everglades filtered the pollutants coming from the cities，absorbing the worst of it like a sewage treatment plant. During storms the Everglades protected the cities from storm surge flooding. They also are just a great place to visit and see wildlife.The first paragraph is intended to tell us________.
| A．wasted land used to be wetlands |
| B．people didn’t know the importance of wetlands before |
| C．wetlands used to be left undisturbed |
| D．wetlands can be used for building |
Why can wetlands be compared to giant sponges?
| A．They absorb extra water from storms. |
| B．They become large or small in size. |
| C．They absorb pollutants and dissolve them. |
| D．They are made of soft soil. |
As for the importance of wetlands，how many aspects are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
The example of the Everglades is given in the last paragraph to show________.
| A．the threat to wetlands |
| B．the protection of wetlands |
| C．the development of wetlands |
| D．the importance of wetlands |
We can infer from the passage that________.
| A．some wetlands can be used to build cities or towns |
| B．wetlands in the world are disappearing fast |
| C．wetlands play an important role in the ecosystem |
| D．wetlands are especially important to wildlife |
IV. 阅读理解：
Bill Robinson is on trial for murder（因谋杀而受审）．He grew up in a small town in Ohio and then went to Kent State University for one year．When he was nineteen years old，he was asked to join the army and was soon sent to fight in Vietnam．He was very unhappy there as he hated the war and he hated killing people．Two years later he returned home and tried to pick up where he had left off，but things were never quite the same again for the young black man．For one thing，he always had terrible dreams about the war．He could not concentrate on his studies and soon he had to leave school．Then he was fired from one job after another．He wanted to meet someone nice and get married，but he just couldn't seem to get close to anyone．He became angry easily and people avoided him．He was always lonely．Finally one day，while eating at a restaurant，Bill lost control of himself and shot someone for no reason at all．Bill's lawyer hopes that he will not be held responsible for the shooting．He hopes that the judge and the jury（陪审团）will understand that Bill was“temporarily insane（一时精神错乱）”and did not really choose to kill anyone．
1．What did Bill Robinson do after he returned from abroad？
A．He gave up the chance to go back to college． B．He tried to go back to his normal life．
C．He picked up his things and left again． D．He found what he had dreamed of．
2．He failed to complete his college education because he ____ ．
A．hated school B．joined the army
C．didn't study hard D．found it difficult to keep his mind on his studies
3．He never married because ____ ．
A．there were no nice girls around B．he didn't care to meet any girls
C．he hadn't met girls that he liked D．he found it hard to make friends with girls
4．The best title for this article is ____ ．
A．Robinson on Trial B．Murder at a Restaurant
C．A Young Black Man D．A Victim(受害者) of the Vietnam War
When prices are low，people will buy more，and when prices are high，they will buy less．Every shopper knows this．But at the same time，producers want higher prices for their goods when they make more goods．According to the economic（经济的）point of view，changes in the prices of goods cause changes in supply and demand． As is shown in the graph（图表），people buy fewer shoes as the price of shoes goes up．On the contrary，a decrease in the price causes an increase in demand．
Business firms look for the perfect price at which the largest profits（利润）can be made．If the price of the shoes goes up to 50，the consumers（消费者）will not buy all of 3，000 shoes．The producers will have a surplus（剩余）of 2，000 shoes and they can only get 50，000．If the price of the shoes is lowered to10，as many as 5，000 shoes can be sold．Still，only 50，000 is made．
1．According to this article，the main idea of the first paragraph is that ____ ．
A．the lower the price is，the less people will buy
B．producers want to make more money by making fewer goods
C．every shopkeeper knows the price for goods
D．how changes in prices of shoes affect the number of shoes sold
2．From the passage，we can conclude that ____ is the best price for the producers to sell the shoes which are worth the highest price．
A.30 B.20 C.10 D.50
Equipped only with a pair of binoculars (双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a rare bullfinch(红腹灰雀). Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show birdwatching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.
Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for a sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches (雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.
“Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book—A Bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching—which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.
Television wildlife programs have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million viewers and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.
Birdwatchers’ networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera — a golden-winged songbird from North America—to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent, where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sightings texted to their phones.
“Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers,” said David Cromack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine, “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”
5、The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “_______”.
A. affected B. shared C. satisfied D. narrowed
6、What happened after the message of seeing a Vermivora chrysoptera was put on the network?
A. Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent.
B. Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird.
C. Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details.
D. Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird.
7、Which of the following CANNOT be true according to the passage?
A. Television wildlife programs started the popular pastime of birdwatching.
B. The network service has contributed to the rapid development of birdwatching.
C. Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers.
D. The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment.
8、The passage mainly tells us about ________ in UK.
A. the history of birdwatching B. a growing passion for birdwatching
C. the impact of media on birdwatching D. birdwatching as a popular expensive sport
IV. 阅读理解
Across the world, 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. More than 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation.(卫生设备)
The combination proves deadly. Each year, diseases related to inadequate water and sanitation kill between 2 and 5 million people and cause an estimated 80 percent of all sicknesses in the developing world. Safe drinking water is a precondition for health and the fight against child death rate, inequality between men and women, and poverty.
Consider these facts:
●The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers.
●Only 58 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are drinking safe water., and only 37 percent
of children in South Asia have access to even a basic toilet.
●Each year in India alone, 73 million working days are lost to water-borne diseases.
Here are three ways you can help:
1) Write Congress
Current U.S. foreign aid for drinking water and sanitation budgets only one dollar per year per American citizen. Few members of Congress have ever received a letter from voters about clean drinking water abroad.
2) Sponsor a project with a faith-based organization
Many U.S. religious groups already sponsor water and sanitation projects, working with partner organizations abroad. Simply put a single project by a U.S. organization can make safe water a reality for thousands of people.
3) Support nonprofit water organizations
Numerous U.S.-based nonprofits work skillfully abroad in community-led projects related to drinking water and sanitation. Like the sample of non-profits noted as follows: some organizations are large, other small-scale, some operate worldwide, others are devoted to certain areas in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Support them generously.
1、The three facts presented in the passage are used to illustrate that________.
A. poverty can result in water-borne diseases
B. people have no access to clean drinking water
C. women’s rights are denied in some developing countries
D. safe drinking water should be a primary concern
2、The intended readers of the passage are________.
A. Americans B. overseas sponsors
C. Congressmen D. U.S.-based water organizations
3、The main purpose of the passage is to call on people to _________.
A. get rid of water-related diseases in developing countries
B. donate money to people short of water through religious groups
C. fight against the worldwide water shortage and sanitation problem
D. take joint action in support of some nonprofit water organizations
4、What information will probably be provided following the last paragraph?
A. A variety of companies and their worldwide operation.
B. A list of nonprofit water organizations to make contact with.
C. Some ways to get financial aids from U.S. Congress.
D. A few water resources exploited by some world-famous organizations.
The unquestioned role of a student is to learn as much as possible through whatever means it takes to acquire knowledge. Teachers and professors are human beings and are therefore not perfect. No one knows the correct answer to every question even when you limit the questions to a certain field of study. Having certain skepticism (质疑) about what they are being taught can help students to make the teachers even better by correcting mistakes and misinformation.
Students certainly have a huge role in their own abilities to learn. Teachers should act more as guides along the way rather than try to force each student to learn. The best teachers in the world cannot teach an unmotivated student. If the teacher, for whatever reason, cannot motivate the student, then the student must somehow find a way to motivate himself or herself.
One method of doing this is by becoming an active rather than a passive student. The more the student involves himself or herself in the act of studying, the better he or she can learn. One of the best ways to become more active is simply to ask the teacher or professor questions. Students who passively sit in a classroom and take everything that the teacher says for granted are not fully using their mental capacities(能力) to learn.
Better education comes from teachers who are able to get their students to think about a subject rather than merely absorb a certain amount of information. Having a healthy skepticism can improve a student’s ability to both think and absorb knowledge in a learning situation.
Teachers are human beings and no one is one hundred percent right all of the time, even in a classroom situation. Perhaps a teacher would simply unconsciously say the wrong word or pass on some misinformation that the teacher truly believed was correct. A student’s question could prevent an entire classroom from becoming confused or misinformed.
There is of course a fine balance between a student having a healthy skepticism, and just being a downright(令人不快的) skeptic. But with the proper attitude toward learning and a little skepticism, both the students and teachers can improve upon the learning process and maximize learning efficiency.
68. Which of the following is the author’s main argument?
A. Passive learning results from passive teaching in class.
B. A student’s ability plays a huge role in the learning process.
C. A healthy skepticism fully depends on students’ motivation and ability.
D. A healthy skepticism and proper attitude contribute to effective learning.
69. Being passive learners, the students ________.
A. use little of their mental ability while studying
B. seldom involve themselves completely in learning
C. can hardly tell the right from the wrong in class
D. simply ask their teachers questions without thinking
70. According to the passage, a good teacher should ________.
A. help the unmotivated students patiently
B. instruct students in the learning process
C. make no mistakes in the teaching process
D. answer all the questions raised by students
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