【题目】You can see that the young graduate is just of __________ height.

A. average B. ordinary

C. special D. regular

【题目】My uncle is a very humourous person, and he often __________ us for hours with funny stories.

A. encourages B. entertains

C. educates D. directs

【题目】GUATEMALA CITY（Reuters）-----A fish that lives in mangrove swamps（红树沼泽）across the Americas can live out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals adapted to land millions of years ago, a new study shows.

The Magrove Rivulus, a type of small killifish, lives in small pools of water in a certain type of empty nut or even old beer cans in the mangrove swamps of Belize, the United States and Brazil. When their living place dries up, they live on the land in logs(圆木), said Scott Taylor, a researcher at the Brevard Endangered Lands Program in Florida.

The fish, whose scientific name is Rivulus marmoratus, can grow as large as three inches. They group together in logs and breathe air through their skin until they can find water again.

The new scientific discovery came after a trip to Belize.

“We kicked over a log and the fish just came crowding out,” Taylor told Reuters in neighboring Guatgemala by telephone. He said he will make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year.

In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating.

Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at a time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in an inactive state. But no other known fish can beout of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and remain active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at Canada’s University of Guelph.

Further studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time.

“These animals live in conditions similar to those that existed millions of years ago, when animals began making the transition (过渡) from water onto land,” Wright said.

【1】The Mangrove Rivulus is a type of fish that __________.

A. likes eating nuts

B. prefers living in dry places

C. is the longest living fish on earth

D. can stay alive for two months out of water

【2】Who will write up a report on Mangrove Rivulus?

A. Patricia Wright B. Scott Taylor

C. Scientists from Belize D. Researchers in Guatemala

【3】According to the text, lungfish can____________.

A. breathe through its skin

B. move freely on dry land

C. remain alive out of water

D. be as active on land as in water

【4】What can we say about the discovery of Mangrove Rivulus?

A. It was made quite by accident

B. It was based on a lab test of sea life

C. It was supported by an American magazine

D. It was helped by Patricia Wright

【题目】Architects have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical (经验的，实证的) basis. They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused and lead to relaxation.

Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2007, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room’s ceiling affects how people think. Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook.

In additions to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant’s ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University found in their study that kids who experienced the greatest increase in greenness as a result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention.

Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that students in classrooms with unblocked views of at least 50 feet outside the window had higher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots.

Recent study on room lighting design suggests than dim (暗淡的) light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax.

So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. “We have a very limited number of studies, so we’re almost looking at the problem through a straw (吸管),” architect David Allison says. “How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalized use of them? That’s what we’re all struggling with.”

【1】What does Joan Meyers-Levy focus on in her research?

A. Light. B. Ceilings.

C. Windows. D. Furniture.

【2】The passage tells us that ___________.

A. the shape of furniture may affect people’s feelings

B. lower ceilings may help improve students’ creativity

C. children in a dim classroom may improve their grades

D students in rooms with unblocked views may feel relaxed

【3】The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that __________.

A. the problem is not approached step by step

B. the researches so far have faults in themselves

C. the problem is too difficult for researchers to detect

D research in this area is not enough to make generalized patterns

【题目】When Josephine Cooper was growing up，she learned the importance of charity from her parents．Although they made a modest living for their family of 10，they insisted on sharing with those less fortunate．

Half a century later，Mrs Cooper became a beloved volunteer at the San Diego Food Bank，where she devoted herself to helping others．She organized and ran a distribution center from a church，helping it become the organization’s largest emergency food distribution center in San Diego．She was one of 25 outstanding senior volunteers in the nation selected and invited to Washington D．C．to receive the award．

“She was the main person who helped us make that program grow,” said Mike Doody，former director of the Food Bank．“She had a way of getting people to work together and to work hard．She was determined and stubborn，but in a good way．She had a good heart．” People knew her as “Grandma” because of her selflessness and her devotion to helping hungry children and families．“She reminded people of their Grandma．” Doody said．

As a widow with a young child in 1979，Mrs．Cooper was helped through a difficult financial time when the Food Bank provided her with groceries．“She dedicated her life to giving back,” said her daughter，Monica Cooper．It wasn’t unusual for a local church to call Mrs Cooper to ask her to aid a needy family．“She would give people food out of her cupboard．Sometimes we would cook a meal for a family living out of their car,” Cooper said．

Although Mrs Cooper was honored to receive the national award for her volunteer work，she said being able to help others was her reward．She died of liver disease and kidney failure，aged 93．

【1】The underlined word “charity” in Paragraph 1 refers to ．

A．offering help B．donating money

C．providing services D．showing sympathy

【2】Which of the following is true of Mrs Cooper?

A．She died at an early age．

B．She refused the national award．

C．She was kind and devoted．

D．She was not easy to get along with．

【3】Mrs Cooper’s story suggests that ．

A．everyone needs a Grandma nearby

B．children are what their parents are

C．a sound mind is in a sound body

D．a mother’s love never changes

【题目】I know one of the things I was unsure about was __________ hard it would be to climb this mountain.

A. what B. that

C. however D. how

【题目】__________ all over the mountain __________ wild flowers.

A. Grown; is B. Growing; is

C. Growing; are D. Grown; are

【题目】Adrian’s “Amazing Race” started early when his parents realized that he, as a baby, couldn’t hear a thing, not even loud noises. In a special school for the hearing-impaired, he learned sign language and got to mix with other disabled children. However, the sight of all the disabled children communicating with one another upset his mother. She wanted him to lead a normal life. So after speaking to an advisor, she sent him to private classes where he learned to read lips and pronounce words.

Later on, Adrian’s parents decided to send him to a regular school. But the headmaster tried to prevent them from doing so, saying regular school couldn’t take care of a special needs students. His parents were determined to take the risk and push him hard to go through his work everyday because they wanted to prove that, given the opportunity, he could do anything. Adrian made the grade and got accepted. It was a big challenge. The pace (节奏) was faster so he had to sit at the front of the class and really pay attention to the teacher, which wasn’t always easy. But he stuck to it and did a lot of extra work after school.

The efforts made by Adrian and his parents paid off. Adrian graduated with good grades and got into a top high school. He also achieved a lot in life outside school. He developed a love for the outdoors and went to Nepal to climb mountains. He even entered the World Yacht Race 05/06--- being the first hearing-impaired Asian to do so.

But none of these achievements would have been possible without one of the most important lessons from his mother.” “If you believe in yourself and work hard, you can achieve great results.” she often said.

【1】 How did Adrian communicate with other children in the special school?

A. By speaking. B. By using sign language.

C. By reading lips. D. By making loud noises.

【2】Adrian’s parents decided to send him to a regular school because .

A. they wanted him to live a normal life

B. they wanted to prove the headmaster wrong

C. he wouldn’t mix with other disabled children

D. he wasn’t taken good care of in the special school

【3】 How did Adrian finally succeed in his study?

A. He did a lot of outdoor activities.

B. He was pushed hard to study every day.

C. He attended private classes after school.

D. He worked very hard both in and after class.

【4】 Why is Adrian’s life described as an “Amazing Race”?

A. He did very well in his study.

B. He succeeded in entering a regular school.

C. He reached his goals in spite of his disability.

D. He took part in the World Yacht Race 05/06.

【题目】Though great progress has been made in science these years, there are still many people lived in poor conditions. They make their lives by collecting and selling used thing. Their children cannot go to school because they have not enough money to send their children to there. Why you think so many people still suffer from poverty now? The answer lies on the population explosion. A president of a developing country once said; “It is us who are to blame for the poverty because we used to ‘produce’ child without limit.” Although this few words sound simple enough, they have clear pointed out one of the causes of the population explosion.

【题目】It is said that the early European playing-cards _________ for entertainment and education.

A. were being designed B. have designed

C. have been designed D. were designed