Sharks are among the oldest animals on Earth. There are hundreds of kinds of sharks. Most are about two meters long. The dogfish shark, however, is less than twenty centimeters in length. A shark has an extremely good sense of smell. It can find small amounts of matters in water, such as blood, body liquids and chemicals produced by animals. These powerful senses help sharks find their food. Sharks eat fish, other sharks, and plants that live in the ocean.
Sharks grow slowly. About forty percent of all sharks lay eggs. The others give birth to live young. Some sharks carry their young inside their bodies as humans do. Some sharks are not able to reproduce until they are twenty years old. Most reproduce only every two years. And they give birth to fewer than ten young sharks. For this reason, over-fishing of sharks is of special danger to the future of the animal.
Sharks are important for the world’s oceans. They eat injured and diseased fish. Their hunting activities mean that the numbers of other fish in ocean waters do not become too large. This protects the plants and other forms of life that exist in the oceans.
People hunt sharks for sport, food, medicine and their skin. Experts say the international market for some kinds of sharks has increased because many parts of a shark are valuable. Collectors pay thousands of dollars for the jaws of a shark. Shark liver oil is a popular source of Vitamin A. The skin of a shark can be used like leather.
In Asia, people enjoy a kind of soup made from shark fins. Experts say a fisherman can earn a lot of money for even one kilogram of shark fins. Sharks are among the oldest animals on Earth, but some sharks are in danger of disappearing from Earth. If too many sharks in one area are killed, that group of sharks may never return to normal population levels.
【小题1】Which of the following words best describes the situation sharks are in?

Animal moms are great moms. You might be surprised at some of these moms.
Octopuses (章鱼)
The mother octopus lays about 50,000 eggs. For about 300 days, she stays with the eggs, cleans them and protects them. She does not leave to feed. However, this animal mom dies as soon as the eggs are hatched (孵化).
Crocodiles(鳄鱼)
A crocodile mother puts a lot of time and effort into raising her babies. She starts by building a nest (巢), which she guards for over two months! When the eggs are ready to hatch, the young crocs call out to their mother, who digs them out and helps them hatch. She then carries them in her mouth down to the water, where she will guard them for several more weeks or months until they learn to hunt on their own.
Bats （蝙蝠）
Bats become moms by hanging head up in a cave, giving birth. Catching the youngster before it can fall to the ground below, she puts it in a pouch (育儿袋). Bat moms may carry babies with them when feeding for the first few days. As the little bats get bigger and heavier, moms help them hang on the wall of their caves and return often to feed them. It continues for about three weeks, until the babies are grown up and able to fly on their own.
Koalas (考拉)
The animal mom gives birth after a pregnancy (怀孕期) of only 35 days. The hairless baby climbs into its mother’s pouch and lives there for another five months. When the little koala is between five and eight months old, it leaves the pouch for short periods of time but returns for safety. Once it is too big to return to the pouch, it will climb onto its mother’s back and ride there until it is about 12 months old.
【小题1】Which animal moms die when their babies are born?

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s．Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women．Right? Wrong．Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size．Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain．The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes．

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women．This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time．When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time．

There are other important differences between two sexes．As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的） tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things．“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher．That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions…and women often need to!

The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿） are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one．A boy would try to climb a barrier （障碍物） before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others．These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills．It may all go back to our ancestors（祖先）, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．

If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t．“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it．” says a biologist．

The passage mainly tells us ________．

         A．the difference between men’s and women’s brains    

         B．the changes in brain throughout our lives

         C．that men are better at spatial tasks                 

         D．that brain differences are related to our ancestors

Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

       A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s             

         B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter．k.s.5.u

         C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain．          

         D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter．

What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

       A．Women prefer doing many things at a time．        

         B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time．

         C．Women do not need to tell directions．             

         D．Men have weaker spatial abilities．

What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A．Defensive．            B．Persuasive．    C．Supportive．  D．Objective．

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s．Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women．Right? Wrong．Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size．Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain．The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes．

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women．This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time．When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time．

There are other important differences between two sexes．As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的） tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things．“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher．That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions…and women often need to!

The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿） are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one．A boy would try to climb a barrier （障碍物） before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others．These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills．It may all go back to our ancestors（祖先）, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．

If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t．“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it．” says a biologist．

56．The passage mainly tells us ________．

       A．the difference between men’s and women’s brains    

       B．the changes in brain throughout our lives

       C．that men are better at spatial tasks                 

       D．that brain differences are related to our ancestors

57．Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

      A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s             

       B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter．

       C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain．         

       D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter．

58．What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

      A．Women prefer doing many things at a time．         

       B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time．

       C．Women do not need to tell directions．             

       D．Men have weaker spatial abilities．

59．Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

     A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls．     

       B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills

       C．Women may have stronger feelings than men．    

       D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills．

60．What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A．Defensive．         B．Persuasive．   C．Supportive．         D．Objective．

There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world, even the seasonal changes, as unpredictable, and they sought through various means, to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.
Those who believed that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances, and when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the “acting area” and the “auditorium”. In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or super natural beings, and mimed the desired effect －success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun －as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.
Another story traces the theater’s origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view, tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.
67. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The origins of theater.                                    B. The role of ritual in modern dance.
C. The importance of storytelling.                             D. The variety of early religious activities.
68. What aspect of drama does the author discuss in the first paragraph?
A. The reason drama is often unpredictable.
B. The seasons in which dramas were performed.
C. The connection between myths and dramatic plots.
D. The importance of costumes in early drama. ks5u
69. According to the passage, what is the main difference between ritual and drama?
A. Ritual uses music whereas drama does not.
B. Ritual is shorter than drama.
C. Ritual requires fewer performers than drama.
D. Ritual has a religious purpose and drama does not.
70. The passage supports which of the following statements?
A. No one really knows how the theater began.
B. Myths are no longer represented dramatically.
C. Storytelling is an important part of dialogue.
D. Dramatic activities require the use of costumes.