Environment Awareness Week Regal Convention Centre,Halls 1-4 24-30 March 2015 10:00 am-9:00 pm Free admission for all!

Save the environment,Save our future Our environment needs help.With the participation of more than 50 organizations.Environment Awareness Week is the biggest public education event dedicated to environmental protection and conservation.Don’t miss it! Come and know more about:

The Threats to Earth(Hall 1)—What is global warming?

How serious is pollution? Learn about different environmental problems from our university students.Protect our environment!

The Search for Renewable Energy(Hall 2)—Can we get electricity from wind,solar energy,waves,rivers and underground heat? Get the answers from Solar Ace,Teflon,Touch Wind Resources and other participants.

The Quest for Freshwater(Hall 3)—Is the shortage of freshwater worsening? What are Singapore’s solutions for treating wastewater? Hear from Flow Technologies,HydroMax Solutians and other participants.

The 3 Rs to Save Earth(Hall 4)—How can we REDUCE,REUSE and RECYCLE to cut down household wastes? Find out from the Global Gaia Network,Green Earth Foundation and other participants.

1.The organizer of the event is______________________.

A.Global Gaia Network B.Clean Energy Agency

C.Green Earth Foundation D.International Environment Fund

2.What’s the purpose of“Environment Awareness Week”?

A.To educate people about environment protection.

B.To advertise for environmental friendly products.

C.To make money by attracting visitors.

D.To support environment protection.

3.The“3 RS”stand for_____________.

A.Read,Realize and Remember

B.Reduce,Reuse and Recycle

C.Green Earth Foundation

D.Global Gaia Network

A

An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.

In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起)the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.

In Chicago, the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.

The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.

Ultimately as Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.

1.What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?

A. To invite authors to guide readers.

B. To encourage people to read and share.

C. To involve people in community service.

D. To promote the friendship between cities.

2.According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?

A. In large communities with little sense of unity

B. In large cities where libraries are far from home

C. In medium-sized cities with a diverse population

D. In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached

3.The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean_____.

A. exchanged ideas with each other

B. discussed the meaning of a word

C. gave life experience

D. used the same language

4.According to Nancy, the degree of students of the project is judged by ______.

A. the careful selection of a proper book

B. the growing popularity of the writers

C. the number of people who benefit from reading.

D. the number of books that each person reads.

What’s on Your Pet’s Mind?

In 1977, Irene Pepperberg of Harvard University began studying what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. Her first experiments began with Alex. Alex was a one-year-old African grey parrot and Irene taught him to produce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”

At the time, most scientists didn’t believe animals had any thoughts. They thought animals were more like robots but didn’t have the ability to think or feel. Of course, if you own a pet you probably disagree. But it is the job of a scientist to prove this and nowadays more scientists accept that animals can think for themselves.

“That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Irene said, “Some people actually called me crazy for trying this.”

Nowadays, we have more and more evidence that animals have all sorts of mental abilities. Sheep can recognize faces. Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use a variety of tools and even use weapons to hunt. And Alex the parrot became a very good talker.

Thirty years after the Alex studies began. Irene was still giving him English lessons up until his recent death. For example, if Alex was hungry he could say “want grape”. Alex could count to six and was learning the sounds for seven and eight. “He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly say them.” Irene said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a few times in a row. Alex could also tell the difference between colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g. wood and metal). Before he finally died, Alex managed to say “seven”.

Another famous pet that proved some animals have greater mental skills was a dog called Rico. He appeared on a German TV game show in 2011. Rico knew the names of 200 different toys and easily learned the names of new ones. When Rico became famous, many other dog owners wanted to show how clever their pets were. Another dog called Betsy could understand 300 words.

One theory for dogs’ ability to learn a language is that they have been close companions to humans for many centuries and so their ability to understand us is constantly evolving (进化). While animals can’t do what humans do yet, some scientists believe that examples like Alex and Rico prove that evolution develops intelligence, as well as physical appearance.

1.Irene wanted to find out __________.

A. what a parrot thinks

B. why a parrot can speak

C. how parrots make sounds

D. if parrots speak English

2.Alex learnt new words by __________.

A. singing them

B. reading them

C. writing them

D. rehearing them

3.The two dogs mentioned in the article could _______.

A. understand some words

B. recognize strange voices

C. copy human gestures

D. tell different colors

4.The article concludes that ___________.

A. our pets understand what we say

B. dogs may speak to humans one day

C. humans are related to chimpanzees

D. mental ability can evolve in animals

Here I'd like to talk about how to develop your curiosity and make use of it to make discoveries. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers when you are curious about something and want to know more about it.

Firstly, write down the subject that you are interested in on a note card or piece of paper. Just put the main idea down, such as “Discover more about dinosaurs.”

Next, think for a moment about what you already know about your subject and list information like the sentences below:

1. Dinosaurs lived long before human beings appeared.

2. Dinosaurs lived on the earth for more than 150 million years.

3. Some dinosaurs fed on plants, some on meat.

Thirdly, ask yourself “What can I do with what I want to learn?” On your paper, start writing down questions about the dinosaurs as you think of them:

1. What's the best weather for dinosaurs to live in?

2. How many kinds of dinosaurs are there?

3. Have dinosaurs really disappeared?

Fourthly, armed_with_your_list_of_questions,_you can now visit the nearest library or turn to computer to begin your research. As you learn more about your subject, you'll probably discover some new questions.

For example, you might discover that dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago. Why? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more deeply.

The next time you find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember—learning more always bring more questions.

1.While doing some research, you should take the following steps________.

①list what you want to know

②choose a research subject

③list what you already know

④discover new problems

A.①④③② B.①②④③

C.②③①④ D.②①④③

2.What does the underlined sentence “armed with your list of questions” mean?

A.Taking your list of questions with you to do more research.

B.Writing down your list of questions before turning to the computer.

C.Discussing your questions with your classmates for solution.

D.Putting your questions aside before going to the library.

3.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A.You can find all the answers online.

B.Learn more, and you'll have no questions.

C.Asking questions is the only way for research.

D.During the research, more questions may arise.

4.The best title for this passage is________.

A.Discovering Dinosaurs

B.Asking Good Questions

C.Finding Suitable Subjects

D.Having Interesting Answers

What’s on Your Pet’s Mind? In 1977, Irene Pepperberg of Harvard University began studying what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it.Her first experiments began with Alex.Alex was a one year old African grey parrot and Irene taught him to produce the sounds of the English language.“I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”

At the time, most scientists didn’t believe animals had any thoughts.They thought animals were more like robots but didn’t have the ability to think or feel.Of course, if you own a pet you probably disagree.But it is the job of a scientist to prove this and nowadays more scientists accept that animals can think for themselves.

“That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Irene said, “Some people actually called me crazy for trying this.”

Nowadays, we have more and more evidence that animals have all sorts of mental abilities.Sheep can recognize faces.Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use a variety of tools and even use weapons to hunt.And Alex the parrot became a very good talker.

Thirty years after the Alex studies began.Irene was still giving him English lessons up until his recent death.For example, if Alex was hungry he could say “want grape”.Alex could count to six and was learning the sounds for seven and eight.“He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly say them.” Irene said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a few times in a row.Alex could also tell the difference between colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g.wood and metal).Before he finally died, Alex managed to say “seven”.

Another famous pet that proved some animals have greater mental skills was a dog called Rico.He appeared on a German TV game show in 2011.Rico knew the names of 200 different toys and easily learned the names of new ones.When Rico became famous, many other dog owners wanted to show how clever their pets were.Another dog called Betsy could understand 300 words.

One theory for dogs’ ability to learn a language is that they have ben close companions to humans for many centuries and so their ability to understand us is constantly evolving (进化).While animals can’t do what humans do yet, some scientists believe that examples like Alex and Rico prove that evolution develops intelligence, as well as physical appearance.

1.Irene wanted to find out __________.

A.what a parrot thinks

B.why a parrot can speak

C.how parrots make sounds

D.if parrots speak English

2.Alex learnt new words by __________.

A.singing them

B.reading them

C.writing them

D.rehearing them

3.The two dogs mentioned in the article could _______.

A.understand some words

B.recognize strange voices

C.copy human gestures

D.tell different colors

4.The article concludes that ___________.

A.our pets understand what we say

B.dogs may speak to humans one day

C.humans are related to chimpanzees

D.mental ability can evolve in animals

D

Mars was the first planet that humans attempted to get to. Since the 1960’s, scientists have been working to learn more information about the Mars’ past, We now know that Mars was once a warm, wet place with great oceans and deep rivers. We also know that about 3.7 billion years ago, all that water disappeared when the planet lost its air. But why did the atmosphere on Mars change so greatly?

NASA had launched the MAVEN spacecraft in the hope of answering that very question. MAVEN will study the remains of Mars’ air and help scientists figure out what became of the rest of it.

The spacecraft was launched on Monday, November 18, 2013, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The trip to Mars takes about 10 months. and MAVEN is scheduled to go into orbit in September 2014. It is the first spacecraft created with the purpose of studying Mars’ atmosphere. Its wings measures 37.5 feet not quite the length of a school bus, and it weighs 1991 pounds about the same amount as a small car. MAVEN is equipped with eight different tools to measure and study the planet’s atmosphere. To collect information, it will fly in orbit as fast as 3278 miles per hour, and as slow as 93 miles per hour.

Once it arrived at Mars, MAVEN will have plenty of company. The spacecraft Curiosity is still walking around the planet’s rocky surface, studying the geology, chemistry and possible biology there. NASA currently has a number of spacecrafts getting unique views of Mars with powerful cameras and telescopes. These missions are all slow, steady steps forward to discover Mars secret past. While the results may not be revealed for some time, an exciting exploration is on the way.

1.We can learn from the first paragraph that________

A.all the scientists wanted to live on Mars

B.people have had a better knowledge of Mars nowadays

C.spaceships have been sent up to Mars since 1960s

D.all the water on Mars has been gone for ten billion years

2.The MAVEN spacecraft has been launched with the purpose of________

A.analyzing the change of the atmosphere on Mars

B.assisting Curiosity in studying the surface of Mars.

C. analyzing what is contained in Mars’ air

D.checking whether water still exists on Mars

3.It can be inferred from, the text that__________.

A.many different tasks will be given to MAVEN when it lands on Mars

B.many spacecrafts are working around Mars to study its water

C.more wonderful things about Mars will be found in the future

D.more spacecraft will be sent up to help Curiosity

4.What is the best title of this text?

A.A new finding on Mars

B.A new spacecraft sent to Mars

C.The rapid development of Mars

D.The great change of the Mars’ atmosphere

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