阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容1个单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The truth1. trees are vital to our life is not a secret. They provide us with food, wood and most 2. (importance), oxygen. Now there is one more thing we can add to this list—blocking out harmful bacteria from water.

The discovery 3. (make) by a team consisting of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and high school students who were seeking a 4. (nature) water filter（过滤器）—one that would help communities in developing countries that do not have access to modern water filter systems.

The 5. (research), led by Professor Rohit Karnik, decided to turn to trees for help because they could allow liquid to flow through, while 6.(block) out air bubbles.

They began by cutting 1.5-inch-wide sections of tree bark from the branches of a white pine tree. The people related then tested the wood’s filtering ability by pouring water containing red dye particles of different sizes through.7. their amazement, they found that it was effective in trapping all the articles.8.(encourage), the team conducted 9.experiment, this time with water 10. contained bacteria. Sure enough, the sapwood held back 99% of the bacteria, allowing only 1% to flow through.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下面画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Alibaba founder Jack Ma, his company has been valued at more than $ 221 billion of which Ma owned 6%, is put in the top position among China’s wealthiest. But he stays outside the list of the world’s 10 rich people.

Fought against a hard life, young Ma still managed to learn English well enough to gain a degree and became a teacher. Afterwards he started a translation agency in which took him to the US, where he introduced to the Internet. His fate was bound to change before he was accidentally appointed to take an American visitor Jerry Yang, a co-founder of Yahoo, in a tour of the Great Wall. The meeting obvious proved to be a turning point for all of them, promoting the birth of Alibaba and later cooperation with Jerry Yang.

（2016年甘肃省河西五市高三二次联考） 成语（Chinese idioms）是中国文化的重要组成部分，它能用简单的词语表达出丰富并且深刻的意义。假定你是李华，你的外国笔友James对中国成语很感兴趣，向你咨询有关中国成语的信息，请你写一封回信，包括如下内容：

1.简单介绍成语;

2.学习成语的益处;

3.分享自己学习成语的感受和体会。

注意：1. 词数100左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear James,

I am glad that you are interested in Chinese idioms.___________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________

I sincerely hope you can learn them well.

Yours

Li Hua

The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge

Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge!

The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge! The Cambridge Science Festival (CSF) is pleased to inform you of the sixth annual Curiosity Challenge. The challenge invites, even dares school students between the ages of 5 and 14 to create artwork or a piece of writing that shows their curiosity and how it inspires them to explore their world.
Students are being dared to draw a picture, write an article, take a photo or write a poem that shows what they are curious about. To enter the challenge, all artwork or pieces of writing should be sent to the Cambridge Science Festival, MIT Museum, 265 Mass Avenue, Cambridge 02139 by Friday, February 8th.
Students who enter the Curiosity Challenge and are selected as winners will be honored at a special ceremony during the CSF on Sunday, April 21st. Guest speakers will also present prizes to the students. Winning entries will be published in a book. Student entries will be exhibited and prizes will be given. Families of those who take part will be included in the celebration and brunch will be served.
Between March 10th and March 15th, each winner will be given the specifics of the closing ceremony and the Curiosity Challenge celebration.The program guidelines and other related information are available at: http://cambridgesciencefestival.org.

1.Who can take part in the Curiosity Challenge?

A. School students. B. Cambridge locals.

C. CSF winners. D. MIT artists.

2.When will the prize-giving ceremony be held?

A. On February 8th . B. On March 10th.

C. On March 15th. D. O n April 21st.

3.What type of writing is this text?

A. An exhibition guide. B. An art show review.

C. An announcement. D. An official report.

Since the first Earth Day in 1970，Americans have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment.“We didn't know at that time that there even was an environment，let alone that there was a problem with it，”says Bruce Anderson，president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement.Business people，political leaders，university professors，and especially millions of grassroots Americans are taking part in the movement.“The understanding has increased many，many times，”says Gaylord Nelson，the former governor from Wisconsin，who thought up the first Earth Day.
According to US government reports，emissions（排放）from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 million tons.The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9.Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with，the world is a safer and healthier place.A kind of “green thinking ” has become part of practices.
Great improvement has been achieved.In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs；today in 1995 there are about 6,600.Advanced lights，motors，and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.

Twenty-five years ago，there were hardly any education programs for environment.Today，it's hard to find a public school，university，or law school that does not have such a kind of program.“Until we do that，nothing else will change！”says Bruce Anderson.

1.According to Anderson, before 1970, Americans had little idea about

A. the social movement.

B. recycling techniques.

C. environmental problems.

D. the importance of Earth Day.

2.Where doe the support for environmental protection mainly come from?

A. The grass-roots level B. The business circle

C. Government officials D. University professors

3.What have Americans achieved in environmental protection?

A. They have cut car emissions to the lowest.

B. They have settled their environmental problems.

C. They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities.

D. They have reduced pollution through effective measures.

4.What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph?

A. Education B. Planning

C. Green living D. CO reduction

Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation for example. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York, so I had to get back. But that didn’t mean my husband and my son couldn’t stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged---okay, ordered them to wait it out at the airport, to “earn” more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I’m a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made a living looking for the best deals and exposing the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC’s Today Show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn’t hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps longer, and it’s the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.

1.Why did Delta give the author’s family credits?

A. They took a later flight.

B. They had early bookings.

C. Their flight had been delayed.

D. Their flight had been cancelled.

2.What can we learn about the author?

A. She rarely misses a good deal.

B. She seldom makes a compromise.

C. She is very strict with her children.

D. She is interested in cheap products.

3.What does the author do?

A. She’s a housewife. B. She’s a writer.

C. She’s a media person. D. She’s a business woman.

4.What does the author want to tell us?

A. How to expose bad tricks. B. How to reserve airline seats.

C. How to spend money wisely. D. How to make a business deal.

The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert（警觉）. Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze（凝视）starts to lose its focus--until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise（同样地）when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.

1.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s .

A. sense of hearing B. sense of sight

C. sense of touch D. sense of smell

2.Babies are sensitive to the change in _______.

A. the size of cards B. the colour of pictures

C. the shape of patterns D. the number of objects

3.Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?

A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.

B. To see how babies recognize sounds.

C. To carry their experiment further.

D. To keep the babes interest.

4.Where does this text probably come from?

A. Science fiction. B. Children’s literature.

C. An advertisement. D. A science report.

House Sitting

In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.

In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country. 1.

So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning. 2. I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.

3. There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home.

There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time. 4. You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.

Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the house owners have a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.

5. Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of the important things to get is references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well. You can show these letters to possible house sitting jobs and they know you will do a good job.

A. I have done house sitting many times.

B. Thousands of people do this all the time.

C. It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.

D. Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.

E. You must take a little care over what your description says about you.

F. This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.

G. You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country.

My previous home had a stand of woods behind it and many animals in the backyard.That first year,I______feeding peanuts to the blue jays,then the squirrels.The squirrels had no______coming up right to me for them. As the months went by, the rabbits saw that I was no______and didn’t escape.When I threw carrot slices(薄片)，they even came for a nibble(啃).Slowly they came to______me,and by the end of the year they were eating out of my hand.
That second year,the rabbits______me,and one would even sit up for slices!While I was feeding them,I______that a groundhog who used to run away was now talking an______interest in this food situation.I carefully extended a long______,with a keen eye on those teeth,and______,there were times I would have the groundhog sitting next to a rabbit,both munching(津津有味的咀嚼) On carrots.A few months later,while______,she would even turn her back to me.______When she was facing away, I reached out and______scratched（搔）her back with my finger,She didn’t move.

By year three,the rabbits and the groundhog were back.The groundhog______didn’t have a problem with me scratching her back,and I got an ides,I’d always______,while slicing up carrots,that the end looked like a cap.______one day, just to see what she would do ,I gently______one on top of the groundhog’s head.Again,not a______,The next time, I had my camera ready to record what you see here,one of several dozen such pictures,______she had a slice to eat,she never______the one of her head.It was a fair______—I got a pleasure,and she had yet another tasty treat.

1.A. avoided B. started C. canceled D. suggested

2.A. business B. fun C. problem D. privilege

3.A. help B. cheat C. threat D. exception

4.A. trust B. miss C. admire D. appreciate

5.A. feared B. ignored C. discovered D. remembered

6.A. proved B. decided C. noticed D. understood

7.A. extreme B. increasing C. additional D. inspiring

8.A. squirrel B. rabbit C. peanut D. carrot

9.A. before long B. long ago C. over and over D. all over again

10.A. eating B. playing C. sitting D. sleeping

11.A. Next B. Once C. Soon D. Lately

12.A. carefully B. suddenly C. violently D. patiently

13.A. also B. thus C. just D. still

14.A. thought B. doubted C. admitted D. recognised

15.A. While B. Or C. So D. For

16.A. fixed B. placed C. hung D. kept

17.A. tremble B. move C. delay D. hesitation

18.A. Even if B. Ever since C. As far as D. So long as

19.A. welcomed B. required C. bothered D. expected

20.A. trade B. competition C. task D. affair

I was driving my children for an hour to a distant supermarket to do some Christmas1. (shop). At the highway exit I noticed an old woman2.(dress) in worn, dirty clothes holding a sign with sadness. I got close3.saw that it said “ Homeless, Please help. Willing to work. ”

I took my children4. the supermarket, but I couldn’t stop5. (think) about the woman. Later after we left my children and I stopped at a local store to buy some snacks for the long drive back home. When I got to the exit again, I found6. ( I ) driving to the place we had driven in. She was still there holding her sign in7. December air. I pulled off the road, and8. (hand) some money to my daughter. My daughter sent it to the woman. Before she could express her thanks to us my daughter gave her the food we9. (buy) for the trip home.

We pulled back out on the highway. None of us felt proud or even happy with what we had done. We10. (strong) wished we could have done more.