Sarah the seagull（海鸥） and her mom lived in New York by the sea．

Every day Sarah and her mom would fly over the waves， diving in to eat the small fish that swam in the shallow（浅的） water． Sometimes people would feed Sarah and her mother a sandwich or some potato chips． They always had a lot to eat． At night， Sarah and her mother would rest under the roof（屋顶） of a nearby building． It was a quite warm place to live in．

But one day it started to get colder． The little fish that were always swimming in the waves were a lot harder to find． There were no more people coming to the beach， so no one was there to feed Sarah and her mother any sandwiches or chips．

"It is time to fly south for the winter，" said Sarah's mom． "Why？" asked Sarah． "Because it has got too cold here，" explained Sarah's mom． "There is no food， and it will soon get even colder．" "   ▲ ，"said Sarah． "Don't worry，" said Sarah's mom． "We will come back when it is warm again． We are birds． We can change where we live and still be happy． We can have more than one home．"

So Sarah and her mom said goodbye to the beach and flew away． They flew and flew， until they were out of the cold and back into the warm weather． They flew all the way to Miami， Florida．

There， they found a new beach． It was filled with fish， and there were lots of people to give them sandwiches and chips． Sarah's mom even found a new roof for them to sleep under．

"I like this other home，" said Sarah． "It is warm， and we have food． This is a nice place too．"

"I told you it would be nice，" said Sarah's mom． "And when it gets warmer in New York again， we will go back． That is the nice part about being a bird． We can fly to new places whenever we want．"

38． Sarah's mother decided to fly south mainly because of 　　．

A． weather

B． interest

C． sights

D． dreams

39． Which of the following is the best to fill in the blank "   ▲ " in Para 4？　　

A． But it's too late

B． But I like a new home

C． But this is our home

D． But it's too tiring

40． From the passage we can learn that the mother seagull is 　　．

A． strict

B． wise

C． crazy

D． polite

41． We can learn from the story that 　　．

A． people should be friendly to birds

B． mothers like moving here and there

C． the environment is becoming worse

D． a change may help to live better

A lot of people play sports， but very few people become sports professionals（专业人员）． If sports aren't going to be your future， then why should you play them？ Why should you train every day？ Why should you work hard and feel sore（酸痛） the next day？ Wouldn't it be better to forget sports and only pay attention to your lessons？

There are actually a lot of good reasons to play sports． First of all， sports are a great way to exercise． Exercising keeps you healthy and strong． It also helps you stay in a good state． When you exercise， your body produces endorphins（内啡肽）． Endorphins give you more energy and make you feel happier．

Sports are important for everyone， but they are especially important for young people． They teach young people about winning and losing． Also， they teach young people how to communicate and work as a team． For example， when you play football， you must learn how to communicate with your teammates and work together． Sports teach young people to respect their coaches， teammates， and people they fight against as well．

Many reports say that sports help young people stay out of trouble． If a young person plays sports， he or she is less likely to have problems． This is because sports teach people about rules． They also teach people that if they work hard， they might succeed．

Another good way of sports is that they make people leave their houses． These days， a lot of people spend too much time watching television and playing video games． When you play sports， you go outside and exercise in the sun． You take in fresh air． All of these things are important．

You're probably not going to become a sports professional， but that doesn't matter． Sports will help you become a better and happier person． Sports will help you make friends and stay healthy． Here is another good reason to play sports： Sports are fun．

34． The purpose of the first paragraph is to 　　．

A． introduce the topic

B． make a survey

C． share knowledge of sports

D． ask for advice

35． The underlined word "They" in Para 4 refers to 　　．

A． reports

B． sports

C． problems

D． rules

36． In the writer's opinion， sports can bring people 　　．

A． happiness， health， friendship and fun

B． fashion， health， friendship and fun

C． happiness， wealth， health and courage

D． health， courage， friendship and value

37． The best title for this passage is 　　．

A． Sports are very interesting

B． Sports teach people rules

C． Sports make people go outside

D． Sports are good for everyone

A lot of families in Britain grow vegetables． A few people grow unusual or strange vegetables． But a great many people grow tomatoes． My neighbor grows the biggest， sweetest， happiest tomatoes in the world． "How do you do it？" I ask． "Why can't I grow tomatoes like yours？"

"I talk to them，" my neighbor says． "I've been talking to my tomatoes for years．" Up to now， I have always laughed at this．

This summer， some scientists carried out an interesting experiment， and I have just read their report．

Three sets of tomato plants were grown． Nobody talked to the first set， but every day for a month， a recording of a man's voice was played to the second set， and a recording of a woman's voice was played to the third set． At the end of the month， the second set of plants had grown four centimeters taller than the first， and the third set of plants had grown five centimeters taller than the second． The plants liked the woman's voice best．

"We can't explain it，" a scientist said， "But sound waves surely help the tomatoes to grow． Plant growers have always paid attention to light and water． Now we advise you to think of sound waves in the same way．"

31． The writer's neighbor grows better tomatoes because he 　　．

A． stays with them

B． laughs at them

C． talks to them

D． thinks of them

32． Through the experiment， the scientists proved that 　　 helps tomatoes to grow best．

A． a man's voice

B． a woman's voice

C． the sound of nature

D． the sound of animals

33． By the underlined sentence the scientist means 　　．

A． plants don't grow without sound waves

B． scientists have found the secret of sound waves

C． sound waves are more important than light and water

D． plant growers should also play attention to sound waves

THREE CENTURIES OF HOAXES（骗局；恶作剧）！

A THINKING MACHINE

In 1769，long before computers were invented，a man from Hungary（匈牙利） built a wonderful machine that could play chess very well．It delighted（使高兴） people all over Europe and beat nearly everyone it played，including famous figures like French leader Napoleon Bonaparte，and scientist and inventor Benjamin Franklin．For decades，many people believed that it was truly a thinking machine．

There were people who said it was a hoax，but could not prove it or explain how it worked．About 85 years later，the secret was finally revealed．There was a man hiding inside the machine all the time…who was obviously very good at playing chess!

200 ESCAPE（逃脱）

On November 9，1874，New York newspaper，The Herald，ran a shocking story on its front page．It said that all the animals in the Central Park Zoo had escaped and were running around the city．It said the police were working to save people，but 27 people had already been killed，and 200 people hut．It wanted everyone to stay at home to avoid danger．Many people in New York were terrified，and did as the paper said．If only they had read the final words of the article，which said："Not one word of it is true Not a single act described has taken place．"It was all just a hoax．The story was made up by Thomas Connery，an editor at The Herald，who wanted to draw attention to the poor condition of cages in the zoo．

ROSIE THE RUNNER

The first woman to cross the finish line of the 1980 Boston Marathon（马拉松） was 23﹣year﹣old Rosie Ruiz．However，as she climbed the stairs to receive her prize，people started to become suspicious（怀疑的）．She didn't seem to be tired at all．Furthermore，none of the other runners remembered seeing her，and her picture never appeared in photos or TV broadcasts of the race．Later，several people said that they had seen her join the race only at the end．It turned out she had run only half a mile（about 805 meters）and taken the train for the rest of the race! Her prize was taken away，of course．

42．The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 1 refers to（指）　　

A．the hoax．

B．the news．

C．the thinking machine．

D．the computer．

43．Which of the following is mentioned in the passage？　　

A．The thinking machine used a computer to win games．

B.200 people were killed by zoo animals in l874．

C．Rosie Ruiz wasn't tired at the finish line．

D．Rosie Ruiz didn't appear in TV broadcasts of the race．

44．What is true about all the writer in the passage？　　

A．They made people scared．

B．They fooled a lot of people．

C．They made people suspicious．

D．They delighted people．

45．The title of the passage shows us that the writer thinks that hoaxes 　　

A．are not new．

B．are easily avoided．

C．are always cruel．

D．are usually unbelievable．

I want to rant a little about cell phones．Here are a few things I hate about them．

I hate it when people tum cell phones on in the movies to check their messages．When someone turns a cell phone on in the movies，I want to turn on a flashlight and point it at their faces．

I hate it when people talk loudly on cell phones in libraries，in quick bookstores，on buses or on trains．Do these people really think we want to hear their conversation？It's not very interesting，to be honest．They're usually talking about what they ate for breakfast，and we can't hear the other end of the conversation（although I'm pretty sure the other side of the conversation is just as boring）．

I hate it when people answer their phone calls while I'm talking to them，and then，in front of me，continue a long conversation．I also hate it when people text while I'm siting at dinner with them．This is probably the worst thing people do on cell phones．This sends the message to the person you're eating with that "You are not interesting or important enough．I'd rather text my other friend．Obviously，I like this other friend much better than I like you．"

I saw a girl yesterday standing in front of the Pacific Ocean．The sun was setting．The sky was pink，orange，and blue．The waves were rolling onto the beach．She was looking down at her little pink cell phone，testing something．She did not look up once．I really wanted to tell her，"A"

38．People usually rant about things that make them 　　

A．angry

B．embarrassed

C．sad

D．disappointed

39．The writer believes the worst thing that people do with cell phones is teat someone 　　

A．while reading in a library

B．while walking at the beach

C．while watching movies in the theater

D．while eating dinner with someone else

40．The writer probably 　　

A．hates people who have cell phones

B．talks loudly on her cell phone on buses

C．tries to use her cell phone politely

D．calls someone often at breakfast

41．What would the writer probably say at the end of the passage？　　

A．Put away your cell phone and go to enjoy the latest movies!

B．Turn off your cell phone and talk to your friends face to face!

C．leave your cell phone in the bag and go home for dinner with your family!

D．Throw your cell phone in the ocean and enjoy the wonderful worried in front of you!