30^th June

Dear Aihua,

How are you? Sorry I haven’t written for so long. I’ve been quite busy planning my holiday with may older brother, Coin. Do you still remember the trip I told you about? I told you Colin and I would spend a few weeks traveling before he goes to university. Well, now we’re ready to go! We’re going to visit so many exciting places and do lots of astonishing things. We will go to Africa first. I can’t wait! Have you been there?

We leave London on 15^th July, and we’ll be flying to Morocco, in Northern Africa. We’re going to travel on camels through the Sahara Desert. It’s the biggest desert in the world-about the size of The US! I expect it will be very hot, dry and dusty there. We’ll be traveling by camel, with local guides, camping in tents and sleeping on the ground in our big, thick sleeping bags. I’ve heard that we can se beautiful stars on clear nights. I’ll bring a torch with me so that I’ll be able to see in the dark. The whole trip will take six days. That means I’ll have to sit on a came for almost a week-how uncomfortable! I hope my camel likes me!

After the trip by camel, we’ve going to travel down the River Nile. We’ll start at Lake Victoria. A little way down the river from Victoria, the water actually gets quite rough. So, we’ll go white-water rafting. It’s quite dangerous, but very exciting! We have to wear special clothing, a helmet and a life jacket, just in case the raft gets turned upside down or sinks after white-water rafting, we’re going on a trip to see wild animals in Kenya. We’ll live with the local people in their villages, and eat and drink like they do, including cow’s blood! Do you think I should drink it?

Since we’ll be walking every day for almost two weeks, I’ll need to buy a large, strong, light backpack to carry my supplies of food and water. During the day, we’ll walk across the land, following the footprints of big animals such as elephants, lions and giraffes. We’ll try to get as close as possible to the animals, even though they’re dangerous, so that I can take some really good photos. But don’t worry about me―our Guides will have guns with them to scare the animals away if they come too close. I really want to see an elephant up close. Colin wants to see a giraffe.

After that, we’ll be moving on to Tanzania, where we’re going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Mountain climbing can be very tiring, and many people feel sick as the air gets thinner, so Colin and I will make sure that we will get enough rest after sunset. The African part of our trip will take about four weeks. Then we’re going to the Himalayas. I’ll send you postcards from all the different places we visit!

                                                            Love

                                                             Toby

36. According to Paragraph 1, ______.

 A. Toby is planning a business trip.                           B. Toby usually travels in his summer holiday.

 C. Colin wants to travel before starting university       D. Toby is not very excited about the trip.

37. The underlined “there” refers to _____.

   A. the United States    B. Morocco     C. northern Africa    D. the Sahara Desert

38. According to paragraph 2, _____.

   A. Toby enjoys the traveling on camels                    B. Toby is worried about traveling on camels

   C. Toby will feed the camels                                  D. Colin loves camels

39. According to Paragraph 5, Toby wants to _____.

   A. see a giraffe up close                                         B. scare animals away

   C. take photographs animals                                    D. shoot an elephant

40. According to the letter, Toby enjoys _____.

   A. comfortable, expensive holidays                          B. cultural holidays

   C. adventure holidays                                             D. staying at home

Certainly no creature in the sea is stranger than the common sea cucumber(海参). All living creatures, especially human beings, have their features, but everything about the little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about an unusual animal that eats mud, feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods, and can be poisonous but is considered eatable?

For some fifty million years, in spite of all its strange features, the sea cucumber has lived on its diet of mud. It is adaptable enough to live attached to rocks by its tube feet, under rocks in shallow water, or on the surface of mud flats. Common in cool water on both Atlantic and Pacific shores, it has the ability to suck up mud or sand and digest whatever nutrients are present.

Sea cucumbers come in a variety of colors, ranging from black to reddish-brown to sand-color and nearly white. One form even has vivid purple tentacles(触须). Usually the creature are cucumber-shaped----where their name comes from----and because they live in rocks, this shape, combined with flexibility, enables them to press into crevices(岩石缝隙) where they are safe from animal eater and ocean currents.

Although they have greedy desire for food, eating day and night, sea cucumbers have the ability to become still and live at a low metabolic(新陈代谢) rate----feeding a little or not at all for long periods, so that the living things in the ocean that provide their food have a chance to increase by a large amount. If it were not for this natural ability, they would swallow all the food available in a short time and would probably starve themselves out of existence.

   But the most impressive thing about the sea cucumber is the way it defends itself. Its major enemies are fish and crabs. When attacked, it forces all its internal organs(内脏) in its body out into water. It also removes attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber will get rid of its organs and grow itself again if it is attacked or even touched; it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted.

1.According to the passage, why is the shape of sea cucumbers important?

   A. It makes them attractive to fish.

   B. It helps them to digest their food.

   C. It helps them to protect themselves from danger.

   D It makes it easier for them to move through the mud.

2.The fourth paragraph of the passage mainly discusses _____.

   A. the reproduction of sea cucumbers

   B. the food sources of sea cucumbers

   C. the eating habits of sea cucumbers

   D. the danger to sea cucumbers’ existence

3.What can be inferred about the defense system of the sea cucumber?

   A. They are similar to those of most se a creatures.

   B. They are very sensitive to the surroundings.

   C. They require group cooperation.

   D.They are almost useless.

4.Which of the following would NOT cause a sea cucumber to give away its internal organs into the water?

   A. Touch                        B. Food                 C. Temperature                    D. Pollution

5.The best title of the passage is “__________”.

A. The variety of sea cucumbers

B. The sources of sea cucumbers

C. The similarity of sea

D. The strange creature ----sea cucumbers