The coyote (丛林狼), that clever animal of wide-open spaces, has come to the nation’s capital. In fact, coyotes have spread to every corner of the United States, changing their behaviors to fit new environments and causing researchers to deal with a troublesome new kind of creature: the city coyote.

The coyote originally lived in the middle of the continent. One of its most obvious characters is its smartness, which has made the animal a notorious (臭名昭著的) pest. Hunters trapped, shot and poisoned more than a million coyotes in the 1900s. It’s still one of America’s most hunted animals. Yet the coyote has survived. How has the coyote shown this extraordinary ability? “I guess if you wanted to use one word, it’d be ‘plasticity’,” says Eric Gese, an expert at Utah State University. Coyotes can live alone, in pairs, or in large packs like wolves; hunt at night or during the day; occupy a small region or an area up to 40 square miles; and live on all sorts of food, from lizards and shoes, to ants and melons.

Unbelievably people helped coyotes increase when they killed most of the wolves in the United States. The spreading of coyotes into city areas, though, is recent. They travel at night, crossing sidewalks and bridges, running along roads and ducking into culverts (钻入涵洞) and underpasses. No one knows why coyotes are moving into cities, but experts explain that cleverer, more human-tolerant (不怕人的) coyotes are teaching urban survival skills to new generations.

Occasionally, coyotes might attack human beings. There have been about 160 attacks on people in recent years. Therefore, people have been consistently told not to feed coyotes or leave pet food unsecured. That, plus a large trapping program in the neighborhood, has cut down on the coyote population.

1.The underlined word “plasticity” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.

A. the ability to fit the environment

B. notorious smartness

C. hunting ability

D. being human-tolerant

2.The aim of the passage is to ________.

A. tell people how to fight against coyotes

B. tell us why the coyote is the most hunted animal

C. supply the reason why the coyote is a kind of notorious pest

D. explain how the coyote has spread to and survived in cities

3.According to the passage, coyotes ________.

A. originally lived in the west of the continent

B. sleep during the day but look for food at night

C. are teaching survival skills to their younger generations

D. suffered a population decrease because people killed wolves

4.According to the passage, to cut down on the coyote population, people are advised to ________.

A. leave pet food securedB. keep coyotes in small regions

C. force coyotes to live aloneD. avoid using trapping programs

What problems do you have with your study? Do you want to improve the way you study? Do you feel nervous before a test? Many students say that a lack of concentration is their biggest problem. It seriously affects their ability to study, so do their test results. __1._

Study Techniques

You should always study in the same place. You shouldn’t sit in a position that you use for another purpose. __2._ Don’t watch TV while you are studying. Experts warn that your concentration may be reduced by 50 percent if you attempt to study in this way. Always try to have a white wall in front of you, so there is nothing to distract you. Before sitting down to study, gather together all the equipment you need. Apart from your textbooks, pens, pencils and knives, make sure you have a dictionary.

_3.__ Finish one thing before beginning another. If you need a break, get up and walk around for a few minutes, but try not to telephone a friend or have something to eat.

Test-taking Skills

All your hard work will be for nothing if you are too nervous to take your test. Getting plenty of rest is very important. This means: do not study all night before your test! It is a better idea to have a long-term study plan. Try to make a timetable for your study which lasts for a few months.

__4.__ Doing some form of exercise every day will also improve your concentration. Eat healthy food too.

When you arrive in the examination room, find your seat and sit down. Breathe slowly and deeply. Check the time on the clock during the test, but not too often. __5.__

A. Above all, take no notice of everyone else and give the test paper your undivided attention.

B. Your eyes will become tired if you try to read a text which is on a flat surface.

C. If so, use these tips to help you.

D. Be realistic and don’t try to complete too much in one study period.

E. For example, when you sit on a sofa to study, your brain will think it is time to relax.

F. You will have enough energy to deal with your study and exams by eating healthy diet.

G. Exercise is a great way to reduce pressure.

Time is very important in our lives. It ________ our moments. However, time never had any ________ in my life until I received a watch from my father that organized my life and made me more ________.

It's round in the center with two silver bands that go around my wrist. And all of it is made of silver. This ________ tells me the importance of time in my life.

I received this ________ on a gray-sky day. I had to go to the airport at 9:00 am to ________ up my uncle Ali and take him to my father’s house. ________, I was late because I was ________ out with my friends. Later on that day, around 11:00 am, I ________ my uncle, but I was too ________ for him. He had ________ the airport and taken a taxi to my father’s house.

I got to my father’s house at 2:00 pm on the same day and looking at my angry father’s face I felt ________ of myself at that moment. After I said hi to my father and uncle, my father asked me to sit next to him where he ________ me this watch as a gift from him. Then he said, “Essa, did you have ________ with your friends today?” I answered, “Yes, Father, and I’m sorry about not meeting my uncle Ali.” He said, “What you ________ was not very nice and you should be sorry for your ________.” I was guilty and said, “Father, I’ll never do it again, I promise.” He said, “I hope today you learned something important, and this watch will be a ________ for you.” He told me to take this watch and use it as an organizer of my life.

I learned a very important ________ from my father: to ________ time and never be late to get someone. This watch is ________ to me, not because of its price, but because of what I learned from it.

1.A. organizesB. appreciatesC. ordersD. explains

2.A. importanceB. similarityC. necessityD. interest

3.A. confidentB. independentC. efficientD. responsible

4.A. objectB. belongingC. matterD. stranger

5.A. cardB. letterC. giftD. thing

6.A. callB. pickC. putD. bring

7.A. OtherwiseB. FortunatelyC. HoweverD. Hopefully

8.A. goingB. hangingC. standingD. leaving

9.A. forgotB. rememberedC. sawD. visited

10.A. anxiousB. nervousC. earlyD. late

11.A. reachedB. recognizedC. leftD. found

12.A. ashamedB. frightenedC. disappointedD. shy

13.A. droppedB. leftC. handedD. bought

14.A. pleasureB. funC. appointmentD. quarrels

15.A. saidB. forgotC. thoughtD. did

16.A. ideasB. wordsC. actionsD. promises

17.A. wonderB. hopeC. requirementD. reminder

18.A. lessonB. classC. lectureD. course

19.A. wasteB. respectC. neglectD. enjoy

20.A. usefulB. necessaryC. differentD. significant

Compassion is a desire within us to help others. With effort, we can translate compassion into action. An experience last weekend showed me this is true. I work part-time in a supermarket across from a building for the elderly. These old people are our main customers, and it’s not hard to lose patience over their slowness. But last Sunday, one aged gentleman appeared to teach me a valuable lesson. This untidy man walked up to my register (收款机) with a box of biscuits. He said he was out of cash, had just moved into his room, and had nothing in his cupboards. He asked if we could let him have the food on trust. He promised to repay me the next day.

I couldn’t help staring at him. I wondered what kind of person he had been ten or twenty years before, and what he would be like if luck had gone his way. I had a hurt in my heart for this kind of human soul, all alone in the world. I told him that I was sorry, but store rules didn’t allow me to do so. I felt stupid and unkind saying this, but I valued my job.

Just then, another man, standing behind the first, spoke up. If anything, he looked more pitiable. “Charge it to me,” was all he said.

What I had been feeling was pity. Pity is soft and safe and easy. Compassion, on the other hand, is caring in action. I thanked the second man but told him that was not allowed either. Then I reached into my pocket and paid for the biscuits myself. I reached into my pocket because these two men had reached into my heart and taught me compassion.

1.The aged gentleman who wanted to buy the biscuits _______.

A. promised to obey the store rules

B. forgot to take any money with him

C. hoped to have the food first and pay later

D. could not afford anything more expensive

2.Which of the following best describes the old gentleman?

A. Kind and lucky.

B. Poor and lonely.

C. Friendly and helpful.

D. Hurt and disappointed.

3.The writer acted upon the store rules because _______.

A. he wanted to keep his present job

B. he felt no pity for the old gentleman

C. he considered the old man dishonest

D. he expected someone else to pay for the old man

4.What does the writer learn from his experience?

A. Wealth is more important than anything else.

B. Helping others is easier said than done.

C. Experience is better gained through practice.

D. Obeying the rules means more than compassion.

Here is an astonishing and significant fact: Mental work alone can’t make us tired. It sounds absurd. But years ago, scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage of fatigue (tiredness). To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered that blood passing through the brain, when it is active, shows no fatigue at all! If we took a drop of blood from a day laborer, we would find it full of fatigue toxins (毒素) and fatigue products. But if we took blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show no fatigue toxins at the end of the day.

So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain is totally tireless. So what makes us tired?

Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional attitudes. One of England’s most outstanding scientists, J.A. Hadfield, says, “The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin. In fact, fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.” Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares, “One hundred percent of the fatigue of sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”

What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction? No! A feeling of being bored, anger, anxiety, tenseness, worry, a feeling of not being appreciated—those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.

1.What surprised the scientists a few years ago?

A. Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer’s blood.

B. Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn after a day’s work.

C. The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.

D. A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins.

2.According to the author, which of the following can make sitting workers tired?

A. Challenging mental work.

B. Unpleasant emotions.

C. Endless tasks.

D. Physical labor.

3.What’s the author’s attitude towards the scientists’ idea?

A. He agrees with them.

B. He doubts them.

C. He argues against them.

D. He hesitates to accept them.

4.We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energetic, sitting workers need to ________.

A. have some good food

B. enjoy their work

C. exercise regularly

D. discover fatigue toxins

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