Bamboo is one of the nature’s most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.

Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1,000 kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains(平原).

Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.

Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for building new buildings. As a matter of fact, the cables(绳索) that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo. The bridge has been in use for more than 1,000 years, and is still holding strong.

In Africa, engineers are teaching poor farmers how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap ways to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use. Bamboo pipes and drills(钻) can help to make the poor thirsty fields to be watered.

How is bamboo like grass?

A. It is thin and easy to cut.                 B. It grows everywhere.

C. It grows quickly after its cut short.       D. It is short and green.

The sentence “while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters across.” means “Some other bamboo plants may grow to be very _______.”

A. short          B. strong        C. thick             D. tall

From the text we know ______.

A. most people call bamboo plant trees

B. a bamboo plant may grow 4.5 meters in three days

C. the bamboo plant changes its colors when it grows

D. a bridge held by bamboo cable was built thousands of years ago

Why did the engineers teach the poor farmers in Africa to make use of bamboo?

A. Because it is cheap.              B. Because it is colorful.

C. Because it drills fast.             D. Because it is used by Asians.

完形填空(共20小題;每小題I. 5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空内处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When Dunstan Cass left the cottage, Silas Marner was only a hundred meters away. He was walking home from the village, where he had   21 to buy what he needed  22   his next day’s work. His legs were tired, but he felt almost happy. He was looking forward to  23  ,when he would bring out his gold. Tonight he had an extra reason to hurry home. He was going to eat hot meat, which was  24   for him. And it would 25  him nothing, because someone had given him a piece of meat as a present. He left it  26  over the fire. The door key was needed to hold it safe in place, but Cass was not at all   27  about leaving his gold in the cottage with the door  28  . He could not imagine that a thief would  29   his way through the mist, rain and darkness to the little cottage by the quarry (釆石场).
When he reached his cottage and opened the door, he did not notice   30   anything was different. He  31    his wet coat, and pushed the meat  32   the fire.  33   he was warm again, he began to think about his gold. It seemed a long time to wait until after super, when he usually brought out coins to look at.  34    he decided to bring out his gold immediately, while the meat was still cooking.
But when he  35  the floorboards near the loom (织布机),and saw the 36   hole ,he did not understand  37  . His heart beat violently as his trembling hands felt all round the hole. There was  38   ! He put his hands to his head and tried to think. Had he put his gold in a different place, and forgotten about it? He 39   every corner of this small cottage, until he could not pretend to himself any more. He had to accept the truth 一 his gold had been   40  !

【小题1】
A.arrivedB.beenC.leftD.gone
【小题2】
A.toB.inC.forD.with
【小题3】
A.holidayB.homeC.supper-timeD.meat
【小题4】
A.ordinaryB.unusuallC.normalD.common
【小题5】A. pay       B.spend    C take       D. cost
【小题6】
A.boilingB.cookingC.smokingD.making
【小题7】
A.interestingB.worriedC.interestedD.worrying
【小题8】
A.unlockedB.uncoveredC.discoveredD.locked
【小题9】
A.goB.leadC.findD.lose
【小题10】
A.whetherB.thatC.becauseD.as
【小题11】
A.turned offB.threw intoC.threw offD.got off
【小题12】
A.away fromB.farther onC.on toD.closer to
【小题13】
A.As soon asB.As well asC.As far asD.As long as
【小题14】
A.ButB.AsC.SoD.For
【小题15】
A.took downB.took offC.took overD.took up
【小题16】
A.darkB.emptyC.smallD.deep
【小题17】
A.at lastB.at onceC.at mostD.at least
【小题18】
A.everythingB.somethingC.nothingD.anything
【小题19】
A.searchedB.gathered C.researchedD.found
【小题20】
A.GoneB.missingC.lostD.stolen

Cities need to put efforts to deal with pollution and clear the air.

Chinese cities will need to put efforts to clear up the sky when a new department to improve regional air quality is set up by 2015,according to the latest plan released by the State Council.

Besides the existing pollution control program for CO2,regional emission caps(区域排放上限) for other certain chemicals will be established in the three key air polluting areas—the Yangtze River Delta,Pearl River Delta and the Beijing­-Tianjin­- Hebei region. Coal­-consumption caps will also be tried out in some areas,according to the plan.

The plan is aimed at dealing with regional air pollution—such as acid rain and smog—which have become increasingly obvious in China in recent years and caused a severe threat to people’s health,Zhang Lijun,vice­minister of environmental protection,said in an interview on Monday.

The air quality in a city affects the areas nearby because pollutants can travel in the sky,said Chai Fahe,vice-­director of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.

“So efforts to reduce air pollution in a single city,targeting a certain pollutant(污染物) will not be enough,” Chai said.

Zhang said the country’s major industrial districts—the Yangtze River Delta,Pearl River Delta and the Beijing­-Tianjin-­Hebei region—have recorded more than 100 misty days annually in recent years.

These three regions,home to at least 200 million people,occupy only 6.3 percent of the country’s area but consume 40 percent of the country’s coal and produce half of its steel,according to official figures.

Studies also show that the visibility(能见度) in eastern regions of China has dropped by 7 to 15 km compared to that in the early 1960s,as a result of air pollution.

Liaoning province,the Shandong Peninsula,Wuhan in Hubei province and its surrounding area,the Changsha­-Zhuzhou­-Xiangtan region in Hunan province,the Chengdu­-Chongqing region,and the western coast of the Taiwan Straits are also listed as areas to carry out such regional air pollution control programs,according to the plan.

The new plan also requires an improved air quality system,which will measure the pollution levels. “The current system,which only measures some major pollutants,cannot reflect the_truepicture.” said Chai.

1.It will not be enough to reduce air pollution in a single city because ________.

A.air pollution has been becoming more and more serious in recent years

B.air pollution like acid rain and smog is threatening people’s health

C.air pollutants in a city can travel in the sky and affect nearby areas

D.air pollutants stay in fixed places over the cities

2.Suppose the visibility in eastern regions of China was 130 km in the early 1960s,the visibility there nowadays is ________.

A.123 to 115 km                         B.137 to 145 km

C.123 to 145 km                          D.115 to 137 km

3.The main purpose of the passage is ________.

A.to inform readers of the damage caused by air pollution

B.to introduce the new plan to control air pollution

C.to provide official figures of air pollution levels

D.to point out the regions affected by air pollution

4.What does the underlined phrase “the true picture” in the last paragraph mean?

A.The major pollutants.

B.The key polluted areas.

C.The major polluted cities.

D.The pollution levels.

 

Besides containing attractive flowers, trees and other plants that beautify the community, eco-friendly rain gardens are healthy for the environment and the people living and working nearby.

A rain garden (雨水花园)is not very different from a traditional garden. It is just a far more eco-friendly garden. Usually it is built lower than the ground. Rain gardens make smart use of rain and storm water by temporarily holding water from rain and storms and letting it soak(浸入)slowly into the ground before it runs into streams or enters the public drinking water supply.

Thus, a rain garden keeps the water, allowing it to be used as needed by plants in the rain garden, rather than flowing immediately into nearby streams and going unused. The water will soak slowly into the ground within a day or two. This creates an advantage that the rain garden does not allow mosquitoes to breed. This is a simple, attractive, and eco-friendly “green” way to treat storm water.

What’s more, planting a rain garden helps reduce pollution and improve the environment. Without using expensive machinery and chemicals, rain gardens remove harmful chemicals in the rainwater and cut down on the amount of pollution reaching streams and rivers by up to 30%.

Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more used to the locals climate, soil, and water conditions. They may attract local wildlife such as native birds. Water your rain garden immediately after planting and once a week, unless you have had at least an inch of rain during the week. Once the native plants establish the necessary root system, it will require little care.

Often, local governments and private businesses develop large rain gardens in their yards and in public parks as a way to improve the environment and solve flooding problems. However, you don’t need to be a professional environmental engineer to create a rain garden. As long as you’re eco-conscious homeowners, you can help the environment by building smaller rain gardens in your yards.

1.Which of the following is NOT RIGHT for the function(功能) of rain gardens?

A.They are good for living conditions.

B.They increase pollution.

C.They can beautify the community.

D.They improve the environment.

2.Which of the following is the eco-friendly function of rain gardens discussed in Paragraph 4?

A.They can keep the rain and storm water.

B.They can help reduce the pollution problem.

C.They can be healthy for the people around.

D.They can make the environment more beautiful.

3.One of the main reasons why native plants are recommended is that           .

A.they cost less and are much easier to get

B.they may attract local wildlife to come

C.they require little care from the local gardener

D.they are more used to the local growing conditions

4.What do we know about rain gardens?

A.They need little water after all the plants are planted.

B.They usually need at least an inch of rainwater a week.

C.They may attract local birds and change the locals climate.

D.They may reduce the water pollution problem by 70%.

5.Who are the intended readers of the passage?

A.Homeowners.      B.Students.          C.Engineers,         D.Educators.

 

"It's this time of year when the weather starts warming up and frogs start breeding - but they haven't been breeding," says John Wilkinson, research and monitoring officer at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC).

Amphibians (两栖动物) are just one of the groups of animals that nature observers fear may have problems reproducing this year, as groundwater levels are even lower now than in the infamously dry summer of 1976, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). According to the UK's Centre for Hydrology and Ecology the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972.

"If ponds dry up totally," says Mr. Wilkinson, "you could have lots of dead tadpoles." Drier and windier conditions could also make it more difficult for juvenile amphibians to survive their journeys between wet habitats.

But Peter Brotherton, the biodiversity manager for Natural England, says that "drought is part of nature's cycle", and, at present, a lot of animals, plants and insects are still in hibernation. This means that the population picture is unclear. "However, when we get extreme events, we get animals dying," he says. "And what is worrying is that normally at this time of year we expect soil to be near saturation(湿润)after winter."

Charlie Kitchin, the RSPB's site manager of the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire, says the 2,000-acre wetland and grassland area is now struggling following two winters with relatively little winter rain and no flooding. One species that could suffer, he says, is the black-tailed godwit(黑尾豫). "There are only 50 breeding pairs in the country, and we have 40 of them, and everything is bone-dry," Mr Kitchin says.

But one bad nesting season, he says, is "not the end of the world". "One of the features of flood plains is that they're volatile anyway," he adds. "But if they fail to breed another year, the population is likely to dip again."

1.According to the passage animals may have problems reproducing this year mainly due to _____.

A.drought

B.hibernation

C.windier conditions

D.extreme events

2.What really worries Peter Brotherton is that ________.

A.drought is part of nature’s cycle

B.animals are still in hibernation

C.soil at this time is far from saturation

D.the population of animals is still unclear

3.Which of the following is NOT true of Charlie Kitchin’s words?

A.Drought has so far continued for two winters.

B.Animals could survive one bad nesting season.

C.The black-tailed godwit is in danger of extinction.

D.40 black-tailed godwits live in the Nene Washes.

4.The underlined word volatile in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.

A.losing water

B.undergoing changes

C.breeding animals

D.suffering flood

5.It can be learnt from the text that ______________.

A.groundwater levels this summer are lower than those of 1976

B.the average rainfall this year has been the lowest since 1972

C.windier conditions could also cause some amphibians’ death

D.flooding plays no useful role in wetlands and grasslands

 

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