The dodo was a ground nesting(筑巢), flightless bird. An adult dodo could grow to a height of about a meter and weigh between 45-50 pounds. The natural habitat of this kind of bird lay in the forest of Mauritius.
Seed(种子) and fruits that were found in the forest were the main food of the dodo birds. As they could easily get the food they required in the forest, they didn’t need to fly. As time went by, they finally lost the ability to fly. It turned out to be a major disadvantage for dodos, as they were left with no ability to protect themselves against human beings’ attacks in their natural habitat, which drove this kind of bird to extinction(灭绝).
The extinction of the dodo started in 1505, when Portuguese sailors set their foot on the Island of Mauritius. Before this, the dodo didn’t face any danger. People began to hunt them. It was not long before animals, like cats, pigs and monkeys, were also introduced to the island by humans. When ships arrived, the rats on these ships came onto the land. Though these animals were not able to attack huge dodos, it was easy for them to attack dodos’ nests on the ground. These animals continued to feed on dodo eggs.
The dodo became a relatively(相对地) rare bird in Mauritius at the beginning of the 17th century, and became extinct in the end. The last reported sighting of a dodo was in 1681. Why did the dodo lose its ability to fly?
| A．Because it liked walking on the ground. |
| B．Because it had no enemies in the forest. |
| C．Because it was too big to fly. |
| D．Because it didn’t need to fly to look for food. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Humans hunted for dodos for money . |
| B．Dodos’ nesting places were attacked by human beings. |
| C．The dodo became extinct because of human activity. |
| D．Other animals on the island lived mainly on dodos’ meat. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The extinction of the dodo. |
| B．The appearance of the dodo. |
| C．The actions taken to protect the dodo. |
| D．The punishment for hunting the dodo. |
If you want to become a better reader, what should you know about speed of reading?
Some people read very rapidly(很快地), while others read very slowly. But which one is
better?
The rapid reader may be a good reader when he reads a storybook for fun. But he may not be
able to slow down enough to read directions(说明) carefully. He may read so rapidly that he does
not take time to understand fully the ideas and information which are important to remember.
The slow reader may be a good reader when he reads directions for making something. But he
may spend too much time in reading a simple story which is meant to be enjoyed but is not
important enough to be remembered.
So, you see, either a rapid reader or a slow reader is not really a good one. If you wish to
become a better reader, here are four important things to remember about speed of reading.
1. Knowing why you are reading will often help you to know whether to read rapidly or
slowly.
2. Some things should be read slowly throughout. Examples are directions for making or doing
something, science and history books, and Maths problems. You must read such things slowly or
remember each important step and understand each important idea.
3. Some things should be read rapidly throughout. Examples are simple stories for enjoyment,
letters from friends and bits of news from hometown papers.
4. In some of your reading, you must change your speed from fast to slow and slow to fast, as
you go along. You will need to read certain(某些) pages rapidly and then slow down and do more
careful reading when you come to important ideas. What should be read rapidly?
| A．Directions for making something. |
| B．Maths problems. |
| C．Science and history books. |
| D．Storybooks, newspapers, personal letters, etc. |
What is the important thing you should keep in mind about speed of reading?
| A．To read as fast as you can. | B．To fit your reading speed to your needs. |
| C．To read as slowly as possible. | D．To keep your reading at a certain speed. |
Which title best gives the main idea of the passage?
| A．Something about Careful Reading | B．Be a Rapid Reader. |
| C．How to Read? | D．How to Be a Slow Reader? |
Close contacts between Japan and the rest of the world were created in the twentieth century. In the last forty years, business contacts between Japan and the West have become very important. Many foreign companies now have offices in Japan and Japanese businessmen do business around the world. Differences between Japanese and Western ways of doing business, however, often bewilder foreign businessmen and make doing business in Japan difficult for foreigners.
The American businessman, for example, wants to start talking business immediately. He does not want to wait. The Japanese businessman, on the other hand, likes to arrive at decisions after giving them serious thought. Another thing foreign businessmen have difficulty in understanding is when a Japanese means “Yes” or “No”. This is because of cultural differences between Japanese and Western society(社会), Which make it difficult for a Japanese to say “No” directly.
In the USA, it is easy to say “No” to something one does not want to do. But in Japan, it is very difficult to say “No”. To refuse an invitation or a request(请求) with “No” is felt to be impolite. It is thought to be selfish and unfriendly. So instead of saying “No” directly, the Japanese have developed many ways to avoid(避免) saying “No”. These can help them avoid hurting other people’s feelings. However, this often makes their ways of doing business rather difficult for foreigners to understand and follow.What often makes foreigners feel difficult to do business in Japan?
| A．Their different ways of doing business. |
| B．Their different lifestyles. |
| C．The fact that the Japanese never say “No”. |
| D．The fact that the Japanese are slow to take action. |
Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined expression “bewilder foreign businessmen” in Paragraph One?
| A．cause foreign businessmen to change their minds. |
| B．give a feeling of surprise to foreign businessmen. |
| C．attract foreign businessmen’s attention. |
| D．make foreign businessmen think wrongly. |
What fact does the passage lead you to believe?
| A．American businessmen do things more slowly than Japanese ones. |
| B．American businessmen like to say “Yes” and “No”. |
| C．Americans usually say what they are thinking. |
| D．Americans do not say what they think or feel clearly. |
From the passage we can infer(推断) that __________.
| A．Japanese businessmen are good at business |
| B．foreign businessmen should try to know Japanese ways of doing business |
| C．foreign businessmen must be more polite |
| D．you must learn from Japanese businessmen if you want to succeed |
Driving a car at a high speed along a highway seems to be fun. You only need to follow the
bright traffic signs beside the highway and it will take you where you wish to go.
But to a London taxi driver, driving is not an easy job. A taxi driver needs to have not only good driving skills but also a good knowledge of the city of London, from the loneliest street to the popular restaurant around. He has to be at the service of all kinds of passengers (乘客) at all times.
A London taxi driver said the following about his job.
During the night it is usual for him to stop two or three times for some food. He said, “I never drink when I’m working, otherwise I’d lose my license (驾驶执照).”
He normally goes home between two and three o’clock in the morning. There are times he has to stay longer and try to make more runs. He said, “That’s the worst thing about working for yourself. If you don’t make money, no one is going to give it to you. ”
London taxi drivers not only “take” but also “give”. Every summer hundreds of poor children from London go for a day at the sea ― by taxi! There rides are paid by the taxi drivers. At the sea, they are met by the mayor (市长) , and a lunch party is also held for the taxi drivers and the children. After a happy day’s running around the beaches and visiting the market there, the children go home again by taxi, free of charge of course!London taxi drivers try to make more runs sometimes mainly because __________.
| A．they make a living by driving |
| B．they prefer to work for themselves |
| C．they want to help more passengers |
| D．they are used to working deep into the night |
How do London taxi drivers “give”?
| A．They give the poor children a lunch party at he sea each summer. |
| B．They give poor children the chance to meet the maor. |
| C．They pay for some poor children’s rides for a day’s tour each summer. |
| D．They play with some poor children at the sea for a day each summer. |
Which of the following words can be used to describe London taxi drivers?
| A．Brave and careful. | B．Rich and generous |
| C．Modest and easy-going | D．Hard-working and kind. |
The passage is most likely to be found from __________.
| A．an advertisement of a taxi company |
| B．an online travel guide |
| C．a website about the taxi drivers in London |
| D．a report about living conditions in London |
Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at
his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.
Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?
Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a
photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around
India was on an elephant.
Reporter: What did you do next?
Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to
carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(专家) for help. He
taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.
Reporter: How long did it take to find a suitable elephant?
Chris: Not too long. I bought a female elephant called Tara for about 6, 000 dollars.
Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?
Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern
India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants
can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1, 200 km away. It took us 64 days to
complete the journey.
Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?
Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day, Tara hurt her foot. Btu that got better
quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!
Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?
Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain
and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an
elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I
gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from __________.
| A．a visit to a zoo | B．an elephant expert from India |
| C．the photos of elephant | D．an old friend who lived in India |
The elephant expert told Chris __________.
| A．when to buy an elephant | B．how to feed an elephant |
| C．where to sell his elephant | D．how to ride an elephant |
Chris decided to go to Sonepur because __________.
| A．it is a very interesting place |
| B．he would be able to sell Tara there easily |
| C．elephants cannot be sold anywhere else |
| D．it would take only a short time to get there |
When Chris arrived at the market in Sonepur, __________.
| A．he realized that he did not really want to sell Tara |
| B．he visited some shopkeepers |
| C．he sold Tara to a national park |
| D．he decided to take Tara home with him |
任务型阅读(阅读下面短文，然后根据短文内容填一正确的单词。答案书写于答题卡卷II各小题规定的位置。)
Have you ever seen the film Titanic? “Titanic” was one of the largest and finest ships in 1912. It hit an iceberg(冰山)on its first sailing from England to America and sank very soon, leaving a love story to the people. Do you know what an iceberg is?
The earth is round, like a ball. The top of the earth is the north. The bottom of the earth is the south. At the top and the bottom of the earth, there is a lot of ice. It is very cold there. Sometimes there is no sunshine for many months. There is ice everywhere all the time. Large pieces of ice fall into the sea. They don’t go to the bottom of the sea. They float(漂浮)near the top of the water. We call these large pieces of ice “iceberg”. Some icebergs are bigger than a tall building. Icebergs are dangerous for ships. Sometimes a ship hits an iceberg.
Then the ship sinks.
You can make a small iceberg. Put a piece of ice in a glass of water. Look ar it. The ice does not sink.Titanic is the name of a film and it’s also the name of a _______.
Titanic sank ________ it hit an iceberg.
The __________ is very cold in North Pole(北极)and in South Pole.
At times we can’t see the ___ in North Pole and in South Pole for a long time.
cebergs are made of large _________.
粤公网安备 44130202000953号