B
The Frog and The Crane
In the heart of the woods there lay a cool, green pond. The shores of the pond were set with ranks of tall bulrushes(芦苇) that waved crisply in the wind, and in the shallow bays there were fleets of broad water lily leaves. Among the rushes and reeds and in the quiet water there dwelt a large tribe of Frogs.
On every warm night of spring, the voices of the Frogs arose in a cheerful chorus. Some voices were low and deep---these were the oldest and wisest of the Frogs; at least, they were old enough to have learned wisdom. Some were high and shrill, and these were the voices of the little Frogs who did not like to be reminded of the days when they had tails and no legs.
"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!" croaked（哇哇叫） a very large frog, sitting in the shade of a water lily leaf.
"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!" replied another voice from the opposite bank.
"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!" boasted a third old Frog from the furthest shore of the pond.
Now a long-legged white Crane was standing near by, well hidden by the coarse grass that grew at the water's edge. He was very hungry that evening, and when he heard the deep voice of the first frog ,he made a quick pass under the broad leaf with his long, cruel bill. The old Frog gave a frightened croak, and kicked violently in his efforts to get away.
The Crane almost had him, when something cold and slimy wound itself about one of his legs. He drew back for a second, and the Frog got safely away! But the Crane did not lose his dinner after all, for about his leg was curled a large black water snake, and that made a fair meal.
Now he rested awhile on one leg, and listened. The first Frog was silent, but from the opposite bank the second Frog croaked boastfully:"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!"
The Crane began to be hungry again. He went round the pond , trying to catch the second frog..
Just as he drew closer to the frog, the Crane saw something that made him let go. a mink(水貂) had crept very close to the Crane, hoping to seize him at his meal! So the second Frog got away too; but he was so dreadfully frightened that he never spoke again.
After a long time the Crane got over his fright and he became very hungry once more. The pond had been still so long that many of the Frogs were singing their pleasant chorus, and above them all there boomed the deep voice of the third and last Bullfrog, saying: "Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!"
The Crane determined to silence him once for all. He croaked and struggled in vain. But just then a Fox crept up behind the Crane and seized him! The Crane let go the Frog and was carried off screaming into the woods for the Fox's supper. So the third Frog got away; but he was badly lamed by the Crane's strong bill, and he never dared to open his mouth againWhy didn’t the crane catch the first frog?
| A．Because the frog kicked too violently. |
| B．Because something would itself around the crane’s leg. |
| C．Because the crane was distracted by another frog. |
| D．Because the frog was frightened away by the noise of the crane. |
According to the passage, the crane ______.
| A．ate nothing that night |
| B．got hurt three times |
| C．let all the three frogs get away |
| D．didn’t dare to catch the frogs in the end |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．It is dangerous living in the woods. |
| B．A wise person always keeps silent. |
| C．Be careful when you are close to your goal. |
| D．Never be proud, even if you have done well. |
Where can we probably find this passage?
| A．In a children’s book |
| B．In an introduction to animals |
| C．In a book about dangers in the woods |
| D．In a book full of information about ponds. |
The January fashion show, called FutureFashion, exemplified how far green design has come．Organized by the New York-based nonprofit Earth Pledge, the show inspired many top designers to work with sustainable fabrics for the first time．Several have since made pledges to include organic fabrics in their lines.
The designers who undertake green fashion still face many challenges．Scott Hahn, cofounder with Gregory of Rogan and Loomstate, which uses all-organic cotton, says high-quality sustainable materials can still be tough to find．“Most designers with existing labels are finding there aren’t comparable fabrics that can just replace what you’re doing and what your customers are used to,” he says．For example, organic cotton and non-organic cotton are virtually indistinguishable once put into a dress．But some popular synthetics, like stretch nylon, still have few eco-friendly equivalents.
Those who do make the switch are finding they have more support．Last year the influential trade show Designers & Agents stopped charging its participation fee for young green entrepreneurs（企业家） who attend its two springtime shows in Los Angeles and New York and gave special recognition to designers whose collections are at least 25% sustainable．It now counts more than 50 green designers, up from fewer than a dozen two years ago．This week Wa
l-Mart is set to announce a major initiative aimed at helping cotton farmers go organic: it will buy transitional cotton at higher prices, thus helping to expand the supply of a key sustainable material．“Mainstream is about to occur,” says Hahn.
Some analysts are less sure．Among consumers, only 18% are even aware that ecofashion exists, up from 6% four years ago．Natalie Hormilla, a fashion writer, is an example of the unconverted consumer．When asked if she owned any sustainable clothes, she replied: “Not that I’m aware of.” Like most consumers, she finds little time to shop, and when she does, she’s on the hunt for “cute stuff that isn’t too expensive.” By her own admission, green just isn’t yet on her mind．But—thanks to the combined efforts of designers, retailers and suppliers—one day it will be.
67．What is said about FutureFashion?
A．It inspired many leading designers to start going green.
B．It showed that designers using organic fabrics would go far.
C．It served as an example of how fashion shows should be organized.
D．It convinced the public that fashionable clothes should be made durable.
68．According to Scott Hahn, one big challenge to designers who will go organic is that .
A．much more time is needed to finish a dress using sustainable materials
B．they have to create new brands for clothes made of organic materials
C．customers have difficulty telling organic from non-organic materials
D．quality organic replacements for synthetics are not readily available
69．What is Natalie Hormilla’s attitude toward ecofashion?
A．She is doubtful of its practical value. B．She doesn’t think it is sustainable.
C．She doesn’t seem to care about it. D．She is very much opposed to the idea.
70．What does the author think of green fashion?
A．Green products will soon go mainstream．
B．It has a very promising future.
C．Consumers have the final say.
D．It will appeal more to young people.
Wugging, or web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user．By using Everyclick.com, which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won’t cost them a penny.
Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity — 88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity．This age group is often the least likely to have their own income．19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than £5,000．With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing or possible.
Beth Truman, a 21-year-old recent university graduate, has used Everyclick.com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA, for two years and has seen the “wugging” movement grow in popularity with students．“When you’re at university you become more socially aware, but it’s sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself,” says Beth．“Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny.”
Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don’t feel they have the means to do so．Students using the web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money, and charities get a valuable source of funding．
Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK’s 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks．Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity．Launched in June 2005, Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK.
63．According to the passage, “wugging” is actually ______.
A．a website B．a charity-related action
C．a school organization D．a student movement
64．In the case of charity, Everyclick.com ______.
A．frees students from the financial worries
B．receives much money from students
C．offers valuable information to students
D．praises students for their money-raising
65．What does Beth Truman think of the “wugging” movement?
A．It makes Everyclick.com popular in the UK．
B．It becomes easy to do charity because of it.
C．It results in students’ more social awareness．
D．It helps students to save money.
66．What would be the best title
for this passage?
A．“Wugging”, a new popular term on the Internet.
B．British people show strong interest in charity.
C．More Britain charities benefit from the Internet.
D．Students raise money for charity by “wugging”.
One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister．On this occasion, the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend．I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying the older ones．Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out．I called home with this happy news．But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone．“I’ll give him a lesson,” I said．I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a wintry night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house．After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered．“Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, rational self．After all, one of
the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers．“Where are the children?” I said．He said they were with him．They had done nothing wrong．My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake．This was too good to be believed．Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it．It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday．My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts．Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.
59．The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because _____ _.
A．she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter
B．she believed he could take good care of the younger ones with the help of his girlfriend
C．the older children have always loved the younger ones
D．she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night
60．Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that ______.
A．her son had brought his girlfriend home
B．her son had left home with his girlfriend
C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son
D．she should have taken the children along with her
61．The sentence “It was only part of the truth.” （Para．5） implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also ______.
A．had a birthday party B．framed some photographs
C．had their pictures taken D．showed off their best clothes
62．Which of the following possible titles best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A．An Evening Out B．Modern Teenagers
C．Mother and Children D．A Precious Birthday Gift
SYDNEY （AFP） Nick Bryant reports:
“It gives me great pleasure to introduce the new caretaker of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, from the United Kingdom, Ben Southall.”
A global recruitment（招聘） drive with the trappings of a TV reality show made it truly a tourism marketing campaign．
The best job in the world’s competition finally has a winner, Ben Southall, a 34-year-old charity worker from Britain．He beat 34,000 candidates from 200 countries in an online competition that became something of an Internet phenomenon．
“To go away now as the island caretaker for Tourism Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef is an extreme honour．I hope I can fill the boots as much as everybody is expecting, my swimming hopefully is up to standard and I look forward to all of the new roles and responsibilities that the task involves.” [Ben Southall]
For a disappointing Australian tourism industry currently in the doldrums, this has been an unexpected encouragement．Tourism Queensland deliberately chose the middle of winter of the northern Hemisphere to launch the campaign back in January, but didn’t expect anywhere near the global response．They think the only countries where people didn’t visit their website were North Korea and a few African nations．
What’s said to be the best job in the world comes with a $110,000 （about 750,000 yuan） contract for six months’ work, a luxury beachside home and a plunge pool．
In return, the island caretaker will be expected to stroll the white sands, enjoy the sun, diving and taking care of the reef, “maybe clean the pool”-- and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.
For the losers meanwhile, there’s the worst of long journeys home.
55．Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．The global recruitment mostly took place online．
B．Ben Southall got the job in January.
C．The recruitment started in winter in Australia．
D．The organizers knew the activity would attract attention from all over the world.
56．The caretaker of the islands is expected to be good at all the following EXCEPT ______.
A．swimming B．writing C．photographing D．acting
57．It can be inferred from the report that ______.
A．it’s the easiest job in the world
B．you need to surf the Internet regularly to know what Ben Southall is doing there
C．the organizers of the activity knew North Koreans would never be interested in the job
D．The journey home of the losers of the competition will be dangerous
58．The underlined word “doldrums” probably means ______ .
A．depression B．development C．recovery D．promotion
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Centuries ago, many houses in a bad state in London were torn down to make way for new streets．However, the construction project was put off for quite some time, and the foundations of the houses pulled down were left in the open.
One day, a team of scientis
ts arrived, only to discover that, on the patches of the foundations blocked from sunlight for years, was growing wild plants, dotted with little flowers．Puzzlingly, some species were native to Mediterranean countries only.
Most of the destroyed houses had been built during the Roman invasion．Weighed down by piles of bricks an
d stones year after year, the seeds possibly brought here in Roman times had almost no hope for survival．However, once bathed in the sun, they came alive.
The little seeds were so fragile yet so persevering．Though bricks piled on them many years, they still remained alive．Once exposed to sunshine and rain, th
ey immediately exhibited signs of life．A little seed, lying underground for hundreds of years, still cherished the hope to live on．But what if a man is stuck in a similar situation?
One year, a British expedition was marching through the boundless Sahara sands．With the sun hanging overhead, ho
t waves of sandy winds were blowing against their faces like hot iron grains．The men were suffering both thirst and anxiety．The last drop of water was gone．Just then, the captain brought out a water bottle, saying, “There is still one bottle of water left．However, no one is to drink any before going out of the desert.”
The bottle of water lent them confidence to get through the desert, and embodied their hope to live on．It was handed down the line of people．This changed into firmness the despair registered on the men’s faces．Finally the men walked out of the desert, shaking off the threat of death．Tears out of joy welled out, and trembling hands were trying to screw off the bottle cap and let out the water, which had supported them spiritually．Now, however, it was sand pouring out—a bottleful of sand!
Was it a bottle of sand that rescued them from the burning sun and the boundless desert? No, it was their firm faith, like a seed that had taken root in their hearts and that finally let them out of the awful desert.
51．Centuries ago, a team of scientists arrived in London and discovered _____, which made them confused.
A．some wild plants
B．some foundations of many old houses
C．many houses in a poor state
D．some little seeds
52．When the British expedition were marching through the Sahara, _____.
A．they had one bottle of water left
B．they had the last drop of water
C．the weather was anything but tolerable
D．they experienced thirst, anxiety and hunger
53．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 probably means _____.
A．the bottle of water changed the firmness on the men’s face into despair
B．the bottle of water transformed the men’s desperation into confidence
C．feeling heavy made the men strong rather than weak
D．feeling heavy changed the men’s hope into disappointment
54．What lesson can we learn from the passage?
A．Telling a lie is sometimes necessary.
B．Man can overcome any difficulty whatever it is.
C．A man can do no more than he can.
D．Where there is a seed, there is hope.
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