A small town in southwest Britain is banning(禁止) plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste—a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe.
Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1500,agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday.They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead.
Last month,San Franciso became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags.Internationally,laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland,where governments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out.Bangladesh already bans them,and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.
Modbury,about 225 miles southwest of London,has also declared a bag amnesty(宽限期),allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home.They will be sent for traveling.
The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking,who saw the effect of bags on marine life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman.She said response(反应) in the town so far had been “really positive”.
“Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker baskets to go out shopping anyway,”Hosking told Sky News Television.
The Worldwatch Institute,an environmental research agency,states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone.More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.

1.
What was Rebecca Hosking?
1. A.
  A lawyer.
2. B.
  An environmentalist.
3. C.
  A sailor.
4. D.
  A photographer.
2.
The underlined word “disposable” in the passage probably means _______.
1. A.
  acceptable
2. B.
  valuable
3. C.
  throw-away
4. D.
  long-lasting
3.
It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
1. A.
  most of the people in Modbury continue to use plastic bags
2. B.
  fewer and fewer plastic bags will be used in the world
3. C.
  San Francisco is the first city to ban plastic bags in the world
4. D.
  most countries in the world have passed laws to ban plastic bags
4.
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
1. A.
  Environmental Protection
2. B.
  Big Cities Banning Plastic Bags
3. C.
  Effect of Plastic Bags on Sea Animals
4. D.
  British Town Banning Plastic Bags

Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back,a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs,catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras.To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years.The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Ban University.The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli.They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to the right side.When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right,but with somewhat less enthusiasm.The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag,although with less intensity again.The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog,similar to a German shepherd,changed the direction of tail wagging to the left.Reseachers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back.When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left,suggesting they preferred company.While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video,it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood(心情) of dogs.Computer and video systems,for example,could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.

1.
The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ responses because _______.
1. A.
  it was easier to catch the dogs’ response changes in the tail wagging
2. B.
  the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time
3. C.
  they enabled the dogs’ owners to know about their dogs’ habit
4. D.
  the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods
2.
The underlined word “intensity” in the passage means _______.
1. A.
  surprise
2. B.
  worry
3. C.
  excitement
4. D.
  interest
3.
When there are no stimuli,a dog will _______.
1. A.
  wag to the left
2. B.
  wag to the right
3. C.
  not wag at all
4. D.
  wag to the left and then to the right
4.
The underlined word “they” refers to _______.
1. A.
  the dogs
2. B.
  the trainers
3. C.
  the systems
4. D.
  the researchers
5.
The purpose of doing the experiment is _______.
1. A.
  to train dogs for their owners
2. B.
  to help people judge the mood of dogs
3. C.
  to help dogs find company
4. D.
  to help people choose their pet dogs

When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority （优先）.This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception（感知）that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotional meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings "talk" to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, and our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize

1.
According to Paragraph 1，students______.
1. A.
  regard music as a way of entertainment
2. B.
  disagree with their parents on education
3. C.
  view music as an overlooked subject
4. D.
  prefer the arts to science
2.
In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz as an example to ______.
1. A.
  compare it with rock music
2. B.
  show music reflects a society
3. C.
  introduce American musical traditions
4. D.
  prove music influences people's lifestyles
3.
According to the passage, the arts and science______.
1. A.
  approach the world from different angles
2. B.
  explore different phenomena of the world
3. C.
  express people's feelings in different ways
4. D.
  explain what it means to be human differently
4.
What is the main idea of the passage?
1. A.
  Music education deserves more attention
2. B.
  Music should be of top education priority
3. C.
  Music is an effective communication tool
4. D.
  Music education makes students more imaginative. '

This is the age of being busy. Many of us live in busy places and have busy lives. Even the roads are busy as we try to get from here to there. Adults are busy going to jobs and taking care of their families. Kids are busy, too, going to school and doing a lot of homework after school and on weekends.
Busy isn’t bad, necessarily. If you are not busy enough you might be bored. But if you are too busy, you might break down. For example, if you have a soccer game that runs late on a school night and you haven’t eaten dinner or done your homework, that’s a not-so-fun kind of busy. We wanted to know what kids thought, so we did a kidsPoll about being busy with 882girls and boys aged 9 to 13.
Almost all of them said they felt stressed because they were too busy. About half said they felt this way once in a while or some of the time. But 17% said they felt this way most of the time and 24% said they felt this all the time! Oh dear, that’s no fun.
Only 4% of kids said they wanted less free time and 18% said they already had just the right amount. But, no big surprise, 61% of kids wish they had a lot more free time. If they had more time, most would spend it hanging out or playing with friends.
Often, adults plan large parts of a kid ’s day, especially during the school year. kids can’t tell their parents they’ll be skipping school(逃学) today to get more free time! But they can tell their parents they’d like to play a game or read a book during their free time instead of watching TV

1.
The purpose of the first paragraph is to _____
1. A.
  Introduce the topic
2. B.
  Support the main idea
3. C.
  Raise the topic sentence
4. D.
  Attract the readers’ attention
2.
By giving the example of a late soccer game, the writer intends to tell us______
1. A.
  Being too busy is bad for the kids
2. B.
  It is no fun to be busy for the kids
3. C.
  Homework should go before gam
4. D.
  Being busy may cause the kids to feel bored
3.
According to the passage, the KidsPoll is done to carry out research on _____
1. A.
  How kids arrange their free time
2. B.
  What kids think of being busy
3. C.
  How many kids felt stressed
4. D.
  What kids do with their study
4.
From the passage, we can infer that the writer agrees kids can_____
1. A.
  Spend their free time hanging or playing out
2. B.
  Get a lot more free time from their parents
3. C.
  Have a right amount of free time with permission
4. D.
  Get more free time from school work sometimes

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming lake behind his house.
In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind his shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swan toward the middle of the lake, an alligator(鳄鱼) was swimming toward the shore.
His mother in the house was looking out the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer. In extreme fear, she ran toward the water, yelling(大叫) to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him.
From the dock(码头)，the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched(夺取) his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-water(拔河). The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate(有感情的). A farmer happened to drive by, took aim and shot the alligator.
After weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. The newspaper reporter asked if he would show him his scars(伤疤). The boy lifted his legs, then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “but look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mum wouldn’t let go. ”
Some scars have caused us deep regret, but some scars are because of love.

1.
From the second paragraph we can infer that_____.
1. A.
  A child shouldn’t swim in the water by himself.
2. B.
  We’d better grasp some skills to protect ourselves
3. C.
  We should make enough preparations before swimming
4. D.
  We are enjoying ourselves but don’t know the enemy is coming.
2.
The incredible tug-of-water is between _______.
1. A.
  The boy and the alligator
2. B.
  the boy and the mother
3. C.
  The alligator and the mother
4. D.
  the alligator and the farmer.
3.
Which of the following statements is true?
1. A.
  The alligator was killed by a hunter.
2. B.
  There’re scars both on the boy’s arms and legs.
3. C.
  The mother was calm when seeing the alligator.
4. D.
  The mother won the “match” because of her strength.
4.
Why was the boy proud when he showed the scars on his arms？
1. A.
  He survived luckily.
2. B.
  He was a child of God.
3. C.
  He was injured slightly.
4. D.
  He was proud of the scars of love.