Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male animal, considers as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species(物种) are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and frighten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting(筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually _____________.
| A．an expression of happiness | B．a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger | D．a way of greeting |
What does the underlined word “territory” mean?
| A．An area which a bird considers to be its own. |
| B．An area for which birds fight against each other. |
| C．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice. |
| D．A place where families of other species are not welcome. |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because they want to invite more friends. |
| B．Because they want to find outsiders around. |
| C．Because they want to express their happiness. |
| D．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away. |
How does the writer explain birds’ singing?
| A．By telling a bird’s story. |
| B．By describing birds’ daily life. |
| C．By reporting experiment results. |
| D．By comparing birds with human beings. |
We can see this ad _________.
| A．at a cafe | B．at a library | C．at school | D．at home |
We can go for lunch at _________on Monday.
| A．10:30 | B．11:45 | C．12:30 | D．14:30 |
Mrs. Zhou will spend _________ if she goes for dinner on Friday.
| A．$ 6 | B．$ 7 | C．$ 11 | D．$ 12 |
Mr. Brown and his 8-year-old son had to pay _________ for dinner last Sunday.
| A．$ 7 | B．$ 11 | C．$ 12 | D．$ 17 |
You can _________ according to the ad.
| A．take away the food in one box for $ 8 | B．enjoy all you can eat and barbecue |
| C．get a free bottle of wine with your friend | D．call the Chinese Cafe at 9651 4655 |
Play is the basic business of childhood, and in recent years research has shown the great importance of play in the development of a human being. From earliest infancy（婴儿）, every child needs opportunity and right materials for play, and the main tools of play are toys. The main function of toys is to suggest, encourage and play. To succeed in this, they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back again and again. Therefore, it is important to choose suitable toys for different stages of a child’s development.
In recent years, research on baby development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited（遗传的）abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life. So a baby’s ability to benefit from the right play materials should not be underestimated. A baby who is encouraged, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully.
In the next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds. Every type of suitable toys should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability: Bricks and jigsaws（七巧板）and construction toys; painting, scribbling（涂鸦）and making things; sand and water play; toys for imaginative and pretending play—the first social games for learning to play and get on with others.
But at the third stage of play development—from five to seven or eight years old— the child is at school. But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school．It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys.
Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child．But once reading has been mastered, then books become the main source of learning. Toys are still interesting and valuable, which lead up to new hobbies, but their significance has changed to a child of nine or ten years old, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun. What does the writer want to tell us in the first paragraph?
Children should choose toys by themselves.
Children like playing, but they don’t need any toys.
Children should be given different toys as they grow up.
Children should be given the same toys as they grow up.
58．According to the passage, we can give the child every kind of toys ________．
| A．when he is two | B．when he is around four |
| C．when he is six | D．when he is eight |
When a child is seven years old, what is the main source of learning?
| A．Toys. | B．Books. | C．Jigsaws. | D．Paintings. |
What is the article mainly about?
| A．The importance of schooling. |
| B．The choice of toys for children. |
| C．The importance of pre-school education. |
| D．The role of play in a child’s development. |
Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches along the highway I travel daily to work.
There are some particular blue flowers that have always caught my eye. I’ve noticed that they bloom only in the morning hours and the afternoon sun is too warm for them. Every day for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.
This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I’ve often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers. Every day I drove past the flowers thinking, “I’ll stop on my way home and dig them.” “Gee, I don’t want to get my good clothes dirty…” Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a folding shovel（铲子）one year in my car to be used for that expressed purpose.
One day on my way home from work, I was shocked to see that the highway department had destroyed the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, “Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring.” A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister has a terminal brain tumor（肿瘤）. She is 20 years older than me and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven’t been as close as we all would have liked. I couldn’t help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us.
And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I’ll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden. Why did those flowers the writer saw only bloom in the morning?
| A．Because it was hot in the afternoon. |
| B．Because someone picked them away. |
| C．Because someone took them into houses. |
| D．Because the writer passed them in the morning. |
Which of the following statements is right according to the passage?
| A．The writer’s sister died of lung tumor. |
| B．The writer was regretful when she heard her sister’s death. |
| C．The writer planned to dig the flowers to give them to her husband. |
| D．The writer’s husband planned to plant some flowers in the garden. |
The writer wrote the passage to tell us ________.
| A．to enjoy what we have now |
| B．to value now and not to lose chances |
| C．to protect the beautiful flowers we see |
| D．to love those who are your close relatives |
“Teenager” means a person from 13 to 19 years old. Although they’re young, they have to make many important choices by themselves. Often teachers and parents cannot handle them because they don’t understand and know teenagers, especially their wishes, problems or different moods in a short time. They need to think about questions like these: Should we go to college? What kind of job do I want? However, other people also influence their choices. Who influences teenagers?
It depends on the kind of choice. When teenagers buy things, friends are the most important influence. This is especially true for clothes and music. TV shows, advertisements and parents also influence teenagers. In more serious things, parents are probably the most important influence. Some teenagers say it’s best to regard both parents and friends as influences. James, a seventeen-year-old boy says he’s “just a crazy man”. He also says, “Parents are really important because they can tell you what’s right and wrong.”
But teenagers also feel they need to make choices—to make their own mistakes. As one teenager girl said, “If our parents don’t let us make our own choices, maybe in the future we don’t know how to do it.” And they feel friends can often be a big help, especially because friends sometimes know more about their situation than their parents. Why do teenagers sometimes have to make their own choices?
Because the teachers want them to do it.
Because their parents want them to do it.
Because teenagers like to make choices by themselves.
Because teachers and parents don’t understand them well. Who influences most to the teenagers when they buy music?
| A．Their teachers. | B．Theirs parents. | C．Their friends. | D．Movie stars. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
Everybody needs to make choices.
Teenagers need to make choices by themselves.
Teenagers know more about TV shows and music.
Teachers and parents should help teenagers as much as possible.
Reading is a good habit, but the problem is there’s too much to read these days and too little time to read every word of it. There are hundreds of skills to help you read more in less time. Here are two skills that I think are especially good.
Preview — if it’s long and hard. Previewing is especially useful for getting a general idea of heavy reading like long magazine articles and business reports.
Here’s how to preview.
Read the first two paragraphs and the last two paragraphs carefully.
Then read only the first sentence of the other paragraphs.
Previewing doesn’t give you all the details. It keeps you from spending time on things you don’t really want － or need － or read.
Skim － if it’s short and simple. Skimming is a good way to get a general idea of light reading like popular magazines or the sports and entertainment of your daily paper.
Here’s how to skim.
Get your eyes to move fast. Sweep them across each line.
Pick up only a few key words in each line.
Everybody skims differently. You and I may not pick up the same words when we skim the same piece, but we’ll get a similar idea of what it’s all about. How many skills does the writer introduce to help us in reading?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
What should you do if you read a long article according to the writer?
| A．Read every word of it. | B．Read all the details. |
| C．Pick up a few key words in each line. | |
| D．Read the first and the last two paragraphs carefully. |
If you read a simple article, which reading skill is better to get the general idea?
| A．Previewing. | B．Skimming. | C．Reading. | D．Sweeping. |
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