I have found that the way I treat insects acts as a reflection of my approach to kindness.  Like most kids, I suppose, I mistreated bugs terribly. But many adults continue the rampage against insects, and I have often found that they do this mindlessly.
With the weather getting warmer, more bugs are getting into our houses.  We also spend more time in "their house," as we enjoy the great outdoors.  We find ourselves reaching for the fly swatter and insecticides（杀虫剂）to get rid of them.  But why do we do this?  Most insects pose no threat to us, but we kill them anyway.
As a young adult, I found myself questioning my treatment of bugs.  It became a moral issue.  I remember reading a Native American story about a mother who saw her daughter stomp on a spider.  The mom simply asks the child: "Now who'll take care of that spider's children?  Who would take care of you if someone killed me?" It became a powerful lesson to the child.
All creatures have a purpose, and our world would be terribly out of balance without insects.  If we can treat them with kindness and respect, we can treat any creature that way.  The more I learned about the unique behaviors and purposes of insects, the more I appreciated their place in the world.  I have literally become someone who "wouldn't hurt a fly."
The more I have practiced, the better I've become at catching flies with my hand and escorting them back outside. I use a small glass with a thin piece of cardboard to catch spiders, ants, and bees, and release them where they'll be happier--outdoors. Sure it takes more work than just squishing them, but I feel more in harmony with nature by being kind to bugs. If we could model that for our kids, perhaps they'd grow up to be kinder adults and help make this a kinder world to live in.
49．According to the author, many adults kill bugs ___________.
A．because they hate bugs    B．to stop bugs spread diseases
C．just out of their cruelty    D．just for no special reason
50．The author mentions a Native American story in the third paragraph in order to___________.
A．tell readers the importance of protecting insects
B．show its deep influence on the author
C．appeal to readers to look after spiders’ children
D．describe American mother’s kindness to insects
51．Suppose a bug appears in the author’s room, he will probably___________.
A．kill it without hesitation    B．catch it and free it outside
C．drive it outside tenderly     D．let it be and not disturb it
52．Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
A．Showing kindness to insects    B．My childhood and insects
C．The significance of insets      D．Some tips of treating insects

I have found that the way I treat insects acts as a reflection of my approach to kindness.  Like most kids, I suppose, I mistreated bugs terribly. But many adults continue the rampage against insects, and I have often found that they do this mindlessly.

With the weather getting warmer, more bugs are getting into our houses.  We also spend more time in "their house," as we enjoy the great outdoors.  We find ourselves reaching for the fly swatter and insecticides（杀虫剂）to get rid of them.  But why do we do this?  Most insects pose no threat to us, but we kill them anyway.

As a young adult, I found myself questioning my treatment of bugs.  It became a moral issue.  I remember reading a Native American story about a mother who saw her daughter stomp on a spider.  The mom simply asks the child: "Now who'll take care of that spider's children?  Who would take care of you if someone killed me?" It became a powerful lesson to the child.

All creatures have a purpose, and our world would be terribly out of balance without insects.  If we can treat them with kindness and respect, we can treat any creature that way.  The more I learned about the unique behaviors and purposes of insects, the more I appreciated their place in the world.  I have literally become someone who "wouldn't hurt a fly."

The more I have practiced, the better I've become at catching flies with my hand and escorting them back outside. I use a small glass with a thin piece of cardboard to catch spiders, ants, and bees, and release them where they'll be happier--outdoors. Sure it takes more work than just squishing them, but I feel more in harmony with nature by being kind to bugs. If we could model that for our kids, perhaps they'd grow up to be kinder adults and help make this a kinder world to live in.

49．According to the author, many adults kill bugs ___________.

       A．because they hate bugs    B．to stop bugs spread diseases

       C．just out of their cruelty    D．just for no special reason

50．The author mentions a Native American story in the third paragraph in order to___________.

       A．tell readers the importance of protecting insects

       B．show its deep influence on the author

       C．appeal to readers to look after spiders’ children

       D．describe American mother’s kindness to insects

51．Suppose a bug appears in the author’s room, he will probably___________.

       A．kill it without hesitation     B．catch it and free it outside

       C．drive it outside tenderly      D．let it be and not disturb it

52．Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

       A．Showing kindness to insects    B．My childhood and insects

       C．The significance of insets      D．Some tips of treating insects

I have found that the way I treat insects acts as a reflection of my approach to kindness.  Like most kids, I suppose, I mistreated bugs terribly. But many adults continue the rampage against insects, and I have often found that they do this mindlessly.

With the weather getting warmer, more bugs are getting into our houses.  We also spend more time in "their house," as we enjoy the great outdoors.  We find ourselves reaching for the fly swatter and insecticides（杀虫剂）to get rid of them.  But why do we do this?  Most insects pose no threat to us, but we kill them anyway.

As a young adult, I found myself questioning my treatment of bugs.  It became a moral issue.  I remember reading a Native American story about a mother who saw her daughter stomp on a spider.  The mom simply asks the child: "Now who'll take care of that spider's children?  Who would take care of you if someone killed me?" It became a powerful lesson to the child.

All creatures have a purpose, and our world would be terribly out of balance without insects.  If we can treat them with kindness and respect, we can treat any creature that way.  The more I learned about the unique behaviors and purposes of insects, the more I appreciated their place in the world.  I have literally become someone who "wouldn't hurt a fly."

The more I have practiced, the better I've become at catching flies with my hand and escorting them back outside. I use a small glass with a thin piece of cardboard to catch spiders, ants, and bees, and release them where they'll be happier--outdoors. Sure it takes more work than just squishing them, but I feel more in harmony with nature by being kind to bugs. If we could model that for our kids, perhaps they'd grow up to be kinder adults and help make this a kinder world to live in.

49．According to the author, many adults kill bugs          .

       A．because they hate bugs    B．to stop bugs spread diseases

       C．just out of their cruelty    D．just for no special reason

50．The author mentions a Native American story in the third paragraph in order to     .

       A．tell readers the importance of protecting insects

       B．show its deep influence on the author

       C．appeal to readers to look after spiders’ children

       D．describe American mother’s kindness to insects

51．Suppose a bug appears in the author’s room, he will probably        .

       A．kill it without hesitation  B．catch it and free it outside

       C．drive it outside tenderly   D．let it be and not disturb it

52．Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

       A．Showing kindness to insects    B．My childhood and insects

       C．The significance of insets D．Some tips of treating insects

Antarctica and Environment

       Antarctica has actually become a kind of space station – a unique observation post for detecting important changes in the world’s environment. Remote from major sources of pollution and the complex geological and ecological systems that prevail elsewhere, Antarctica makes possible scientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made in other parts of the world.

       Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant-early-warning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. One promising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland, and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet – a concern they believe the world at large should share.

       The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continent into two very different regions. The part of the continent to the “east” of the mountains is a high plateau covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. “West” of the mountain, the half of the continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests on rock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, the western part of the continent would be reduced to a sparse cluster of island.

       While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus on the mysterious “dry valley” of Antarctica, valleys that contain little ice or snow even in the depths of winter. Slashed through the mountains of southern Victoria Land, these valleys once held enormous glaciers that descended 9,000 feet from the polar plateau to the Ross Sea. Now the glaciers are gone, perhaps a casualty of the global warming trend during the 10,000 years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blasted out by vicious winds that roars down from the polar plateau to the sea. Left bare are spectacular gorges, rippled fields of sand dunes, clusters of boulders sculptured into fantastic shapes by 100-mile-an-hour winds, and an aura of extraterrestrial desolation.

       Despite the unearthly aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe they may carry a message of hope of the verdant parts of the earth. Some scientists believe that in some cases the dry valleys may soak up pollutants faster than pollutants enter them.

What is the best title for this passage?

A Antarctica and environmental Problems.

B Antarctica: Earth’s Early-Warning station.

C Antarctica: a Unique Observation Post.

D Antarctica: a Mysterious Place.

What would the result be if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared?

A The western part of the continent would be disappeared.

B The western part of the continent would be reduced.

C The western part of the continent would become scattered Islands.

D The western part of the continent would be reduced to a cluster of Islands.

Why are the Dry Valleys left bare?

A Vicious wind blasts the snow away.                B It rarely snows.

C Because of the global warming trend and fierce wind.  D Sand dunes.

Which of the following is true?

A The “Dry Valleys” have nothing left inside.

B The “Dry Valleys” never held glaciers.

C The “Dry Valleys” may carry a message of hope for the verdant.

D The “Dry Valleys” are useless to scientists.

Antarctica and Environment
Antarctica has actually become a kind of space station – a unique observation post for detecting important changes in the world’s environment. Remote from major sources of pollution and the complex geological and ecological systems that prevail elsewhere, Antarctica makes possible scientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made in other parts of the world.
Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant-early-warning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. One promising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland, and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet – a concern they believe the world at large should share.
The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continent into two very different regions. The part of the continent to the “east” of the mountains is a high plateau covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. “West” of the mountain, the half of the continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests on rock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, the western part of the continent would be reduced to a sparse cluster of island.
While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus on the mysterious “dry valley” of Antarctica, valleys that contain little ice or snow even in the depths of winter. Slashed through the mountains of southern Victoria Land, these valleys once held enormous glaciers that descended 9,000 feet from the polar plateau to the Ross Sea. Now the glaciers are gone, perhaps a casualty of the global warming trend during the 10,000 years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blasted out by vicious winds that roars down from the polar plateau to the sea. Left bare are spectacular gorges, rippled fields of sand dunes, clusters of boulders sculptured into fantastic shapes by 100-mile-an-hour winds, and an aura of extraterrestrial desolation.
Despite the unearthly aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe they may carry a message of hope of the verdant parts of the earth. Some scientists believe that in some cases the dry valleys may soak up pollutants faster than pollutants enter them

1. 1.

   What is the best title for this passage?

   1. A.
      Antarctica and environmental Problems
   2. B.
      Antarctica: Earth’s Early-Warning station
   3. C.
      Antarctica: a Unique Observation Post
   4. D.
      Antarctica: a Mysterious Place
2. 2.

   What would the result be if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared?

   1. A.
      The western part of the continent would be disappeared
   2. B.
      The western part of the continent would be reduced
   3. C.
      The western part of the continent would become scattered Islands
   4. D.
      The western part of the continent would be reduced to a cluster of Islands
3. 3.

   Why are the Dry Valleys left bare?

   1. A.
      Vicious wind blasts the snow away
   2. B.
      It rarely snows
   3. C.
      Because of the global warming trend and fierce wind
   4. D.
      Sand dunes
4. 4.

   Which of the following is true?

   1. A.
      The “Dry Valleys” have nothing left inside
   2. B.
      The “Dry Valleys” never held glaciers
   3. C.
      The “Dry Valleys” may carry a message of hope for the verdant
   4. D.
      The “Dry Valleys” are useless to scientists