Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle (口哨) 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, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species  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 threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

If so, you have actually frightened 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 the 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 birds’ singing is actually ______.

A. an expression of happiness      

B. a way of warning

C. an expression of anger     

D. a way of greeting

What is a bird’s “territory”?

A. A place where families of other species are not accepted.

B. A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.

C. An area for which birds fight against each other.

D. An area which a bird considers to be its own.

One reason for birds’ singing at nesting season is that ______.

A. they want to invite more friends.

B. their singing helps frighten outsiders away.

C. they want to find outsiders around.

D. their singing helps get rid of their fears.

How does the writer explain birds’ singing?

A. By comparing birds with human beings.

B. By reporting experiment results.

C. By describing birds’ daily life.

D. By telling a bird’s story.

Why not an island get-away?

Newfoundland

Price

From ??1080 per person in June 2005

We went with:

Frontier Canada frontier-travel. Co. uk/Canada

About this trip

John Cabot had set sail looking for a new trade route for Asia, when he landed in Cape Bonavista. Clearly he felt this barren desolate landscape could provide this, so he claimed it for its potential and so began the rise of the British Empire.

Newfoundland is the most easterly point in North America and was Britain’s first overseas colony until 1949, when it became part of Canada. It’s roughly the size of England and Craig’s journey by camper van or RV (recreational vehicle) took in just a small part of the island called the Bonavista Peninsula.

First stop was the tiny fishing port of Keels to stock up for the journey ahead. There’s a long standing love affair between Newfoundlanders and cod. The seas off the Newfoundland coast were once the richest cod fishing grounds in the world, attracting fishermen from all over Europe. Many settled, establishing these coastal villages known locally as outports.

An hour’s drive down the coast is the town of Bonavista, where Craig met up with retired fisherman, Wilson Hayward. He told Craig how the landscape used to lie, and described the peculiarities of the language and accents in the area. There’s a different language in every bay.

The title “Why not an island get-away?” _________.

A. invites people to take a holiday trip to Newfoundland

B. informs people that the island is moving away from where it used to be

C. tells people that they can buy the island at the price of ??1080.

D. asks people to visit the website frontier-travel. co.uk/Canada

From the context we can conclude that “Frontier Canada” is the name of _________.

A. a tourist guide

B. a kind of fish found around the island

C. a tourist agency

D. someone who has already booked the trip

When John Cabot first discovered Cape Bonavista he was actually on a voyage to find ____.

A. North America        B. Asia

C. South America        D. the British Empire

According to the passage Newfoundland is now part of _________.

A. UK   B. Canada   C. Europe   D. Bonavista

In the past the Newfoundlanders mainly lived by _________.

A. teaching languages       B. making camper vans

C. looking after retired fishermen  D. fishing cod

A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.

Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe(预订) to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost.

Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes.

The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005. Roughly half of new subscribers converted(转变) from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access.

"The industry continues to chip (击破)away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted.

What does the underlined word “holdouts” in the first paragraph most probably mean?

A. some American families      

B. those who hold out one’s opinions

C. those who have been surveyed    

D. those who still haven’t access to the Internet currently

Many potential customers refuse to subscribe to the Internet mainly because __________.

A. they show too much concern about the cost

B. they can find little value of it

C. they do most YouTube-watching at work

D. the Internet doesn’t reach their homes

From the passage we can infer that _____________.

A. It is not an easy job to transform those holdouts into the Internet users

B. people will adopt dial-up Internet access no more

C. many Americans enjoy doing e-commerce shopping at home

D. more than half of the population are using the Internet in 2005

According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service?

A. making the Internet look more similar to TV set

B. applying the Internet more to entertainment

C. providing more pay-TV programs

D. chipping away at the core of non-subscribers

Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Web develops with technology

B. The present situation of web

C. Many Americans see little point to web

D. It is urgent to promote web service

 

III.阅读 (共两节,满分40分)

第一节 阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)

  阅读下面短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.

Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe(预订) to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost.

Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes.

The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005. Roughly half of new subscribers converted(转变) from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access.

"The industry continues to chip (击破)away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted.

41. What does the underlined word “holdouts” in the first paragraph most probably mean?

A. some American families      

B. those who hold out one’s opinions

C. those who have been surveyed    

D. those who still haven’t access to the Internet currently

42. Many potential customers refuse to subscribe to the Internet mainly because __________.

A. they show too much concern about the cost

B. they can find little value of it

C. they do most YouTube-watching at work

D. the Internet doesn’t reach their homes

43. From the passage we can infer that _____________.

A. It is not an easy job to transform those holdouts into the Internet users

B. people will adopt dial-up Internet access no more

C. many Americans enjoy doing e-commerce shopping at home

D. more than half of the population are using the Internet in 2005

44. According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service?

A. making the Internet look more similar to TV set

B. applying the Internet more to entertainment

C. providing more pay-TV programs

D. chipping away at the core of non-subscribers

45. Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Web develops with technology

B. The present situation of web

C. Many Americans see little point to web

D. It is urgent to promote web service

 

 

An increase in students applying to study economics at university is being attributed to (归因于)the global economic crisis awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works.  

Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A. spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up.  

Professor john Beath, the president of the society and a leading lecture at St Andrews University, said his first-year lectures-which are open to students from all departments—were drawing crowds of 400, rather than the usual 250.  

 “There are a large number of students who are not economics majors, who would like to learn something about it. One of the things I have done this year is to relate my teaching to contemporary events in a way that one hasn’t traditionally done. ” He added.   

University applications rose 7% last year. But there were rises above average in several subjects. Nursing saw a 15% jump, with people’s renewed interest in caters in the pubic sector(部门), which are seen as more secure in economic crisis.  

A. recent study showed almost two thirds of parents believed schools should do more to teach pupils about financial matters, and almost half said their children had asked them what was going on, although a minority of parents felt they did not understand it themselves well enough to explain.  

Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said: “It’s possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that’s financially wiser and better equipped to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty.”

1.Professor John Beath’s lectures are             .  

A. given in a traditional way                 B. connected with the present situation

C. open to both students and their parents       D. warmly received by economics  

2.Incomes in the public sector are more attractive because of their         .  

A. greater stability     B. higher pay    C. fewer applications   D. better reputation  

3.in the opinion of most parents           .  

A. eccentrics should be the focus of school teaching

B. more students should be admitted to universities

C. the teaching of financial matters should be strengthened.  

D. children should solve financial problems themselves  

4.According to Hocking, the global economic crisis might make the youngsters        .  

A. wiser in money management

B. have access to better equipment

C. confide about their future careers

D. get jobs in Child Trust Funds  

5.What’s the main idea of the text?

A. Universities have received more applications.  

B. Economics is attracting an increasing numbers students

C. college students benefit a lot from economic uncertainty

D. parents are concerned with children’s subject selection.   

 

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