An absolute description of the threat hanging over the world’s mammals, reptiles, amphibians(不如、爬行、两栖动物) and other life forms has been published by the well-known scientific journal, Nature. A special analysis carried out by the journal indicates that an astonishing 41% of all amphibians on the planet now face extinction while 26% of mammal species and 13% of birds are similarly threatened.
Many species are already critically endangered and lose to extinction, including the Sumatran elephant, Amur leopard and mountain gorilla. But also in danger of vanishing for the wild, it now appears, are animals that are currently rated as merely being endangered.
In each case, the finger of blame points directly at human activites The continuing spread of agriculture is destroying million of hectares of wild habitats(栖息地)every year, leaving animals without homes, while the introduction of newly-come species, often helped by humans, is also damaging native populations. At the same time, pollution and overfishing are destroying ocean ecosystems.
“Habitat destruction, pollution or overfishing either skill off wild creatures and plants or leaves them badly weakened,” said Derek Tittensor, an ocean ecologist at the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge. “The trouble is that in coming decades, the additional threat of worsening climate change will become more and more common and could then kill off these survivors.”
The problem, according to Nature, is worsened because of the huge gaps in scientists knowledge about the planet’s biodiversity. Evaluations of the total number of species of animals and plants alive vary from 2 million to 50 million. In addition, evaluations of current rates of species’ disappearances vary from 500 to 36, 000 a year. “That is the real problem we face,” added Tittensor. “The scale of uncertainty is huge.”
In the end, however, the data indicate that the world is heading cruelty towards a mass extinction-which is defined as one involving a loss of 75% of species or more. This could arrive in less than a hundred years or could take a thousand, depending on extinction rates.What’s the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
| A．Figures about some wild animals are astonishing. |
| B．“Nature” is the famous journal around the world. |
| C．Many endangered species are close to extinction. |
| D．Some rare species have appeared around the world. |
The direct reason for the extinction of some species is _____.
| A．continuous appearance of new species |
| B．destructive activities of human beings |
| C．more and more homeless animals |
| D．the great change of ocean ecosystem |
From paragraph 4 we know that another future threat is ______.
| A．destruction of habitats |
| B．overfishing and pollution |
| C．the worsening climate change |
| D．killing off wild creatures and plants |
What is the real problem we are facing now according to paragraph 5?
| A．The killing of wild creatures and cutting of trees. |
| B．The global warming caused by human beings. |
| C．The destruction of ocean ecosystem by pollution. |
| D．Evaluation of current rates of species’ disappearances. |
What does “This” in the last sentence refer to _____?
| A．mass extinction |
| B．extinction rates |
| C．extinction time |
| D．75% of species or more |
If we were asked exactly what we were doing a year ago，we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written in it an account of what we did each day，we should be able to give an answer to the question.
It is the same in history .Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them .Sometimes men did keep a record of the most important happenings in their country，but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war．Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write．For example，we know a good deal about the people who lived in China 4，000 years ago, because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them．But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in central Africa, because they had not learned to write．
Sometimes, of course，even if the people cannot write，they may know something of the past．They have heard about it from older people，and often songs and dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings，and these have been sung and acted and told for many generations, for most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past．This we may call “remembered history”．Some of it has now been written down. It is not so exact or so valuable to us as written history is，because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing．But where there are no written records，such spoken stories are often very helpful．Which of the following ideas is not suggested in the passage?
| A．“Remembered history”，compared with written history，is less reliable |
| B．Written records of the past play the most important role in our learning of the human history． |
| C．A written account of our daily activities helps US to be able to answer many questions． |
| D．Where there are no written records．there is no history． |
We know very little about the central Africa 200 years ago because ___
| A．there was nothing worth being written down at that time |
| B．the people there ignored the importance of keeping a record |
| C．the written records were perhaps destroyed by a fire |
| D．the people there did not know how to write |
“Remembered history” refers to ___．
| A．history based on a person’s imagination |
| B．stories of important happenings passed down from mouth to mouth |
| C．songs and dances about the most important events |
| D．both B and C |
“Remembered history”is regarded as valuable only when ____.
| A．it is written down | B．no written account is available |
| C．it proves to be time | D．people are interested in it |
The passage suggests that we could have learned much more about our past than we do now if the ancient people had _____
| A．kept a written record of every past event |
| B．not burnt their written records in wars |
| C．told exact stories of the most important happenings |
| D．made more songs and dances |
Although the United States covers so much land and the land produces far more food than the present population needs，its people are by now almost entirely an urban society . Less than a tenth of the people are engaged in agriculture and forestry(林业)，and most of the rest live in or around towns，small and large．Here the traditional picture is changing：every small town may still be very like other small towns，and the typical small town may represent a widely accepted view of the country，but most Americans do not live in small towns any more．Half the population now lives in some thirty metropolitan areas(1arge cities with their suburbs、of more than a million people each—a larger proportion than in Germany or England，let alone France)．The statistics(统计)of urban and rural population should be treated with caution because so many people who live in areas classified as rural travel by car to work in a nearby town each day．As the rush to live out of town continues,rural areas within reach of towns are gradually filled with houses，so that it is hard to say at what moment a piece of country becomes a suburb. But more and more the typical American lives in a metropolitan rather than a small town environment．If now America has 250 million people．how many of them are engaged in agriculture and forestry?
| A．About 25 million． | B．More than 25 million． |
| C．Less than 25 million． | D．Less than 225 million |
Which of the following four countries has the smallest proportion of people living in metropolitan areas?
| A．United States． | B．Germany． | C．France． | D．England． |
What’s the meaning of the word “metropolitan” in the middle of the passage?
| A．Of a large city with its suburbs． | B．Of small and large towns． |
| C．Of urban areas． | D．Of rural areas． |
According to the passage，what can we learn about small towns in the United States?
A Most small towns become gradually crowded
B．Small towns are still similar to each other．
C．As the traditional picture is changing，towns are different．
D .Small towns are turning into large citiesWhy is it hard to say when a piece of country becomes a suburb?
| A．Because they are the same． |
| B．Because the rush takes place too quickly |
| C．Because the process is gradual． |
| D．Because more and more Americans live in metropolitan areas． |
There are stories about two U．S . presidents，Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren，which attempt to explain the American English term OK．We don’t know if either story is true，but they are both interesting．
The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education．In fact，he had difficulty reading and writing．When important papers came to Jackson，he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said．If he approved of a paper, he would write “all correct”on it．The problem was that he didn’t know how to spell．So what he really wrote was “ol korekt”．After a while，he shortened that term to “OK”．
The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born，Kinderhook，New York．Van Buren’s friends organized a club to help him become President .They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club，and anyone who supported Van Buren was called“OK”．The author __________.
| A．believes both of the stories |
| B．doesn’t believe a word of the stories |
| C．is not sure whether the stories are true |
| D．is telling the stories just for fun |
According to the passage，President Jackson_____________.
| A．couldn’t draw up any documents at all |
| B．didn’t like to read important papers by himself |
| C．often had his assistants sign documents for him |
| D．wasn’t good at reading，writing or spelling |
According to the first story, the term “OK”_______________.
| A．was approved of by President Jackson |
| B．was the title of some Official documents |
| C．was first used by President Jackson |
| D．was an old way to spell “all correct’’ |
According to the second story，the term ‘‘OK”_____________.
| A．was the short way to say‘ ‘old Kinderhook Club” |
| B．meant the place where President Van Buren was born |
| C．was the name of Van Buren’s club |
| D．was used to call Van Buren’s supporters in the election |
According to the second story, the term “OK” was first used ______________
| A．by Van Buren |
| B．in a presidential election |
| C．to organize the Old Kinderhook Club |
| D．by the members of the ‘‘Old Kinderhook Club” |
I got my first driver's license(执照)in 1953 by taking driver education in my first year at Central High School in Charlotte，North Carolina. Four years later when it was time to renew my license I was a married woman. Henry and I were living in Baltimore，Maryland. Two weeks before my 20th birthday，Henry drove me to the motor vehicle office on a hot July afternoon. When I got to the office and showed to the man behind the counter my North Carolina driver’ s license，ready to renew，the man told me that I was under age by Maryland law since I was not yet 21.“Mr.Henry Smith，your husband，will have to sign for you，”he said.
I argued，pointing to a very large belly(肚子)of mine，“I am married. I am having a baby. Why should I have to have someone sign for me to drive？”He answered coldly，“It’s the law，madam.”
Henry encouraged me to calm down，just go ahead and get the license and be done with it. “No，” I said. I refused to have him sign for me. So I left without a Maryland license.
I called the North Carolina Motor Vehicle Office and renewed my NC license by mail—using my name Susan Brown. And thus it was for the next twelve years. Since Henry was in the army I could drive under my home state license. By the time Henry left the army we were once again living in Maryland，and I had to take the Maryland driver’ s exam. Since then I just go in and renew every four years—sign the name Susan Brown，have my new picture taken，and walk out with a license to drive.Susan got her first driver’ s license________.
| A．before she got married to Henry |
| B．when she was twenty years old |
| C．after she finished high school |
| D．when she just moved to Maryland |
Susan failed to renew her license the first time in Maryland because________.
| A．she was forbidden to drive by Maryland law |
| B．she lacked driving experience in Maryland |
| C．she was to give birth to a baby soon |
| D．she insisted on signing for herself |
We can infer from the text that in the U.S.________.
| A．American males should serve in the army |
| B．different states may have different laws |
| C．people have to renew their licenses in their home states |
| D．women should adopt their husbands’ family names after marriage |
In the animal kingdom, weakness can bring about aggression in other animals. This sometimes happens with humans also. But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people. I see it every day when people hold doors for me, pour cream into my coffee, or help me to put on my coat. And I have discovered that it makes them happy.
From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, but sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They don’t get to see this soft side of others. Often, we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending we’ re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’ s in them.
Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual. People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning (按喇叭) or even shouting at me. At that moment，I decided to do something I had never done in twenty-four years of driving. I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed.
No more angry shouts and no more horns!
When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to the other drivers, “I have a problem here. I am weak and doing the best I can.” And everyone understood. Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass. They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic. But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak.
Sometimes situations call for us to act strong and brave even when we don’t feel that way. But those are few and far between. More often, it would be better if we don’t pretend we feel strong when we feel weak or pretend that we're brave when we’re scared.The author has discovered that people will feel happy when ________.
| A．they offer their help |
| B．they receive others’ help |
| C．they feel others’ kindness |
| D．they show their weakness |
The author feels sad sometimes because ________.
| A．he has a soft heart |
| B．he relies much on others |
| C．some people pretend to be kind |
| D．some people fail to see the kindness in others |
What did the other drivers do when they saw the flashlights?
| A．They speeded up to pass. |
| B．They waited with patience. |
| C．They tried their best to help. |
| D．They put on their flashlights too. |
In this passage, the author advises us to ________.
| A．handle problems by ourselves |
| B．accept help from others |
| C．admit our weakness |
| D．show our bravery |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号