Christmas bird – watching is popular in the U.S.A. When the holiday season comes, some Americans are likely to watch and count birds in the sky with great interest every day. This activity began in the early part of the last century. It has a one-hundred-year history. At that time, there was a so-called “holiday hunting” custom. In order to celebrate the holiday, the hunters went out to kill birds and beasts. By 1900, there were 27 bird lovers who decided to count birds instead of killing birds. Since then, Christmas bird-watching was held every year. It has been continued to the present.

There were 42000 people who took part in the bird-watching last Christmas, from December 16 the year before to January 3 next year. They were in the United States and Canada, central America, south America and the Caribbean, watching and counting birds in the sky. The whole viewing area was divided into 1600 points. Each birdwatcher was responsible for 25 meters, and was required to write down the types and quantities of birds within 24 hours.

A birdwatcher described what he had watched vividly in his diary—“ When I looked up, I saw a beautiful ‘landscape’ in the sky: Red-crowned cranes(丹顶鹤) were driving up in cunning wedges that split the air. They were so neatly arranged, coordinating their movements. I was excited and breathtaking. Interestingly, the “human” shape(人字行) always maintains 110° ” .

“Why do red-crowned cranes choose to use ‘human’ shape when flying in formation?” He continued, “In my opinion, there are four reasons: first, the ‘human’ shape can make red-crowned cranes use increasing air which is produced by each other’s wings when they are swinging in the sky. It can increase the glide time and save physical ability. Second, the ‘human’ shape will enhance communication among the birds. The orders and the relevant information issued by the lead bird can be conveyed to each member in this migratory group unimpeded, accurately, rapidly and conveniently. Third, such a formation will help to find the birds left behind because of feeling run down as fast as possible, so that the young, the weak, the sick birds can get everyone’s help and encouragement. Finally, the ‘human’ shape shows not only beauty but also unity. It can give enemies a deterrent.They will be terrified and did not dare to attack the birds.The migration security of the birds will be ensured.”  

Environmental experts admired and evaluated Christmas bird-watching highly. They pointed out that it made perfect sense. On the one hand it could enhance the human awareness of environmental protection. On the other hand it could provide first-hand information on birds.

49．When did Christmas bird – watching begin?

         A．Sometime during Christmas holiday.         B．At the beginning of 20th century.

         C．In the early 19 th century.          D．Since there was Christmas Day

50．What do bird – watchers do when they are bird – watching?

         A．They kill birds and beasts.          B．They watch birds and beasts.

         C．They watch and count birds.     D．They look at the sky and write diaries.

51．The following are all reasons for red – crowned cranes flying in “human” shape except      .

         A．they can help each other and ensure their safety

         B．they can communicate with each other in order to reduce tiredness.

         C．they can make use of the air produced by each other’s wings.

         D．they can look stronger in case they come across enemies

52．This passage consists of five paragraphs. Please arrange the five main ideas of the paragraphs in order of their appearance in the passage.

    a. How the bird – watchers divided their watching task and what was done.

         b. How Christmas bird – watching came into being.

         c. Christmas bird – watching is of great importance environmentally and scientifically.

         d. A Christmas bird – watcher watched and was amazed by red – crowned cranes.

         e. Red – crowned cranes fly in “human” formation for quite good reasons.

         A．a – b – c – d – e         B．b – c – e – d – a         C．b- a – d – e – c D．b – d – e – a – c

Father Maurice Chase used a special way to celebrate his 90th birthday. The Catholic priest（神父） took $ 15,000 in cash to Los Angeles’ Skid Row (贫民区) and gave it away. Twenty wheelchair – bound people received $100 bills, while the rest received $1to $ 3 each．
“I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them and that some one is concerned about them,” Chase said．
Chase has given away cash and blessings every Sunday at the same corner for 24 years．Several hundred people wait for him every week．
He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on dirty sidewalks．
“ It’s the place that makes me the happiest．I just love it,” said Chase. “I look forward to coming here.”
The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his work as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University．
The crowd broke into choruses of “Happy Birthday” several times. Some people presented him birthday cards, to his delight．
Travis Kemp, a 51 – year – old disabled man with long black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive $ 100. He said he had no special plans for spending the money. “He has a lot of respect from me,” Kemp said. “I know I couldn’t do it.”
【小题1】On his 90 th birthday, Chase      ．

A．All his savings．

B．His earnings as a Catholic priest．

C．Donations from the wealthy and celebrities(名人)．

D．Donations from Loyola Marymount University．

Father Maurice Chase used a special way to celebrate his 90th birthday. The Catholic priest（神父） took $ 15,000 in cash to Los Angeles’ Skid Row (贫民区) and gave it away. Twenty wheelchair – bound people received $100 bills, while the rest received $1to $ 3 each．

“I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them and that some one is concerned about them,” Chase said．

Chase has given away cash and blessings every Sunday at the same corner for 24 years．Several hundred people wait for him every week．

He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on dirty sidewalks．

    “ It’s the place that makes me the happiest．I just love it,” said Chase. “I look forward to coming here.”

The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his work as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University．

The crowd broke into choruses of “Happy Birthday” several times. Some people presented him birthday cards, to his delight．

Travis Kemp, a 51 – year – old disabled man with long black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive $ 100. He said he had no special plans for spending the money. “He has a lot of respect from me,” Kemp said. “I know I couldn’t do it.”

1.On his 90 th birthday, Chase       ．

    A．handed out cash to the needy

    B．collected money for poor people

    C．visited poor people’s homes with gifts

    D．held a party at Los Angeles’ Skid Row

2.Which of the following makes Chase feel the happiest?

    A．Celebrating his birthday with his neighbours．

    B．Working in Loyola Marymount University．

    C．Celebrating Christmas with the people he has helped．

    D．Going to Los Angeles’ Skid Row to help people there．

3.What’s the source of the money Chase used to help people?

    A．All his savings．

    B．His earnings as a Catholic priest．

    C．Donations from the wealthy and celebrities(名人)．

    D．Donations from Loyola Marymount University．

4.Travis Kemp is mentioned in the text to show ．

    A．he was the luckiest person on that day

    B．the disabled need to be taken care of

    C．Chase is greatly appreciated by the needy

    D．even old people came to celebrate Chase’s birthday

5.Which statement is CORRECT according to the passage?

    A．Every recipient could get $100 in cash from Father Maurice Chase．

    B．Father Maurice Chase gave the cash away not only on his birthday but also on other occasions．

    C．Although Father Maurice Chase gave the cash away on his birthday, he didn’t receive anything in return．

    D．Father Maurice Chase earned a lot of money as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University．

Doors and windows can’t keep them out; airport immigration officers can’t stop them and the Internet is a complete reproduction soil. They seem harmless in small doses, but large imports threaten Japan’s very uniqueness, say critics. “They are foreign words and they are infecting the Japanese language”.

“Sometimes I feel like I need a translator to understand my own language, ”says Yoko Fujimura with little anger, a 5-year-old Tokyo restaurant worker.“It’s becoming incomprehensible”.

It’s not only Japan who is on the defensive. Countries around th globe are wet through their hands over the rapid spread of American English. Coca?Cola,for example, is one of the most recognized terms on Earth.

It is made worse for Japan, however, by its unique writing system. The country writes all imported utterances(言论) except Chinese?in a different script called katakana (片假名). It is the only country to keep up such a difference. Katakana takes far more space to write than kanji?the core pictograph (象形文字) characters that the Japanese borrowed from China 1,500 years ago. Because it stands out, readers complain that sentences packed with foreign words start to look like extended strings of lights. As if that weren’t enough, katakana terms tend to get puzzling.

 For example, digital camera first appears as degitaru kamera. Then they became the more ear?pleasing digi kamey. But kamey is also the Japanese word for turtle. “It’s very disappointing not knowing what young people are talking about,” says humorously Minoru Shiratori, a 53?year?old bus driver. “Sometimes I can’t tell if they’re discussing cameras or turtles.”

In a bid to stop the flood of katakana, the government has formed a Foreign Words Committee to find suitable Japanese replacements. The committee is slightly different from French?style language police, which try to support a law that forbids advertising in English. Rather, committee members and traditionalists hope a non?stop campaign of persuasion, gentle criticism and leadership by example can turn the tide.

12.According to the author, the reason why the Japanese is infectd greatly by English is .      

A.that nothing can prevent it from entering into Japan

B.that English is the most recognized language in the world

C.that the government has not set up a special administration department to control this trend   before it becomes popular in Japan

D.not clearly mentioned in this passage

13.By saying “counties around the globe are wet through their hands over the rapid spread of American English,”the author infers that        .

A.even a restaurant worker in Japan may feel the English infection on Japanese

B.the flood of katakana has covered most of countries in the world

C.Coca?Cola is the most popuar on the earth and this product covers all the global market

D.many other countries are affected greatly by American English

14.According to the author, the last paragraph mainly deals with.      

A.how French-style language police has prevented the infection of English

B.how Japanese Foreign Words Committee prevents the infection of foreign words

C.the suitable Japanese replacements

D.why committee members and traditionalists begin to declare a war against the infection of foreign words

15.Which conclusion can be drawn based on the opinions from the Japanese people (in paragraph 2 and 4 of this passage)?

A.The elders strongly advocates replacing the foreign words than young people.

B.All the people dislike speaking the foreign words, such as “digi kamey”.

C.They are so old that it is necessary to give some language assistance by a specialist.

D.People’s work determines the language they speak.

Christmas bird – watching is popular in the U.S.A. When the holiday season comes, some Americans are likely to watch and count birds in the sky with great interest every day. This activity began in the early part of the last century. It has a one-hundred-year history. At that time, there was a so-called “holiday hunting” custom. In order to celebrate the holiday, the hunters went out to kill birds and beasts. By 1900, there were 27 bird lovers who decided to count birds instead of killing birds. Since then, Christmas bird-watching was held every year. It has been continued to the present.

There were 42000 people who took part in the bird-watching last Christmas, from December 16 the year before to January 3 next year. They were in the United States and Canada, central America, south America and the Caribbean, watching and counting birds in the sky. The whole viewing area was divided into 1600 points. Each birdwatcher was responsible for 25 meters, and was required to write down the types and quantities of birds within 24 hours.

A birdwatcher described what he had watched vividly in his diary—“ When I looked up, I saw a beautiful ‘landscape’ in the sky: Red-crowned cranes(丹顶鹤) were driving up in cunning wedges that split the air. They were so neatly arranged, coordinating their movements. I was excited and breathtaking. Interestingly, the “human” shape(人字行) always maintains 110° ” .

“Why do red-crowned cranes choose to use ‘human’ shape when flying in formation?” He continued, “In my opinion, there are four reasons: first, the ‘human’ shape can make red-crowned cranes use increasing air which is produced by each other’s wings when they are swinging in the sky. It can increase the glide time and save physical ability. Second, the ‘human’ shape will enhance communication among the birds. The orders and the relevant information issued by the lead bird can be conveyed to each member in this migratory group unimpeded, accurately, rapidly and conveniently. Third, such a formation will help to find the birds left behind because of feeling run down as fast as possible, so that the young, the weak, the sick birds can get everyone’s help and encouragement. Finally, the ‘human’ shape shows not only beauty but also unity. It can give enemies a deterrent.They will be terrified and did not dare to attack the birds.The migration security of the birds will be ensured.”  

Environmental experts admired and evaluated Christmas bird-watching highly. They pointed out that it made perfect sense. On the one hand it could enhance the human awareness of environmental protection. On the other hand it could provide first-hand information on birds.

49．When did Christmas bird – watching begin?

         A．Sometime during Christmas holiday.         B．At the beginning of 20th century.

         C．In the early 19 th century.          D．Since there was Christmas Day

50．What do bird – watchers do when they are bird – watching?

         A．They kill birds and beasts.          B．They watch birds and beasts.

         C．They watch and count birds.     D．They look at the sky and write diaries.

51．The following are all reasons for red – crowned cranes flying in “human” shape except      .

         A．they can help each other and ensure their safety

         B．they can communicate with each other in order to reduce tiredness.

         C．they can make use of the air produced by each other’s wings.

         D．they can look stronger in case they come across enemies

52．This passage consists of five paragraphs. Please arrange the five main ideas of the paragraphs in order of their appearance in the passage.

    a. How the bird – watchers divided their watching task and what was done.

         b. How Christmas bird – watching came into being.

         c. Christmas bird – watching is of great importance environmentally and scientifically.

         d. A Christmas bird – watcher watched and was amazed by red – crowned cranes.

         e. Red – crowned cranes fly in “human” formation for quite good reasons.

         A．a – b – c – d – e         B．b – c – e – d – a         C．b- a – d – e – c D．b – d – e – a – c