Bamboo (竹子) is one of nature's (自然) most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.

Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist reported one bamboo plant which grew 1. 5 metres(4 feet) in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1, 000 kinds of bamboo.

Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimetres wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimetres (1 foot) across. This plant also comes in different colours, from yellow to black to green.

Bamboo has been used to make many things such as hats and kitchen tools( 厨房用具). Because it is strong, bamboo is also used to build buildings.

Many Asian countries have used bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for buildings and supporting (支撑) new buildings and bridges while they are being built.

In Africa, poor farmers are taught how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap way to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. Bamboo pipes( 管子) help poor farmers bring water to their thirsty fields without spending a lot of money.

1.How is bamboo like grass?

A．It grows quickly.     B．It's wood. `         C．it is easy to cut.     D．It is very thin.

2.Though you can see bamboo everywhere, it doesn't grow      .

A．in China           B．in Europe          C．on mountains      D．in Africa

3.Why is bamboo used by African poor farmers? Because       .

A．it is cheap                             B．it has different colours

C．it is strong                             D．it has been used by Asians

4.Bamboo pipes can      .

A．make money       B．be trees           C．grow quickly       D．carry water

5.In Asia, bamboo has been used for      .

A．a short time

B．many thousands of years

C．many hundreds of years

D．about 100 years

         Forests have always been useful and important to men who make use of them in many ways. Every day trees are serving man everywhere. Trees supply man with fruits and building materials in the form of wood. Without trees it would be impossible to build houses, boats, bridges and so on. Furniture such as desks, chairs and beds is made of wood. Trees can stop man from the terrible heat. They’re also useful in preventing(阻止) good and rich top soil from being washed away during heavy rains. If there were no forests, heavy rains would wash away the rich surface(表层) soil that is so important to plants. The result is that the land will become a desert. There are plenty of desert areas in the world. A long time ago these desert areas used to be very rich areas, but men in the past had no enough knowledge about science of nature, and they cut down too many trees in the area where they lived and never planted new ones. By and by, the rich surface soil was blown and washed away by strong winds and heavy rains. In the end the rich land changed into useless deserts where nothing could grow.

根据短文内容，判断正（T）误（F）。

1.Trees are not serving man everywhere.

2.Without trees it would be possible to build houses, boats, bridges and so on.

3.Trees can stop man from the terrible heat.

4.There are few desert areas in the world.

5.In the end the rich land changed into useless deserts where nothing could grow.

Here is a page from a magazine called Future. Read the following information about things that may happen in ten years.
Cars will run on solar power（太阳能）and will be much cleaner. They will be much safer. For example, if you are too close to another car or if you are driving dangerously, your car will slow down or stop by itself.
New cities will have to be built in the sea. Some cities on water will have two levels（层）. People will live on the upper level; the lower levels will be used for traffic, shops and factories.
Biotechnology（生物技术）will make food better and healthier. Plants without insects or illnesses will be developed. The taste of fruit and vegetables will be better and food will be kept longer.
Many new ways to cure illnesses will be found. People will use products of genetic engineering（基因产品）to cure more illnesses. However, some new illnesses will appear.
【小题1】What will happen in the future according to the passage?
A.The air won’t be much cleaner.
B.Cars will run by itself without a driver.
C.There’ll be fewer accidents and less pollution.
【小题2】Where will new cities have to be built in the future?
A. In the sea. B. In the sky. C. On the land.
【小题3】What will be made better and healthier by biotechnology?
A. Medicine     B. Food    C. Clothes
【小题4】Genetic engineering will help doctors to cure more ________.
A. Cold    B. illnesses    C. headache
【小题5】Which is the best title（标题）of the passage?
A.Cars in the future
B.Get ready for the future
C.Where will people live in the future?

阅读理解

You may know that more people drink coffee than tea around the world. And that, after oil, it is the second biggest traded commodity（商品）. You may also know that the drink comes from beans which are first roasted and then ground. But what else do you know about this popular drink?

It is said that the story of coffee started with an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi. One day Kaldi was surprised to see that his goats were behaving very strangely. Instead of grazing（吃草） quietly, they were jumping around, almost dancing. He also noticed some red “cherries” from a plant that the goats were eating. He tried some himself and was surprised by the feeling of extreme happiness and excitement. He felt like dancing too!

But it wasn’t used as a drink at first - it was used as food. The coffee berries, mixed with animal fat, were used by monks to stay awake during long hours of prayer. From Ethiopia, coffee was later cultivated in Yemen and the first hot drink was developed there around AD 1000. Three centuries later Muslims were keen coffee drinkers and as Islam spread, so did coffee. Coffee houses appeared in Cairo and Mecca.

For hundreds of years the plants were protected safely. But some beans were smuggled（偷运）out of Arabia and taken to India. In the 17th century, coffee was soon grown in a new continent. From India to Indonesia, a century later the beans were once again smuggled to Brazil. Brazil is now the largest coffee producer in the world.

It was the caffeine（咖啡因）that made the goats dance and kept the monks awake. Although it is found in other soft drinks and tea, coffee has the most caffeine. In the short term, a couple of cups of coffee can prevent fatigue and delay sleep. But several cups a day, every day, can cause anxiety and restlessness.

1.What is the world’s biggest traded commodity?

A. Oil   B. Coffee   C. Tea

2.Why did the goatherd want to dance?

A. Because he liked to dance with his goats.

B. Because he found his goats behaving strangely.

C. Because he ate some red “cherries” from a plant.

3. Which of the following events came first?

A. Coffee houses appeared in Mecca.

B. Coffee became a drink.

C. Coffee spread as Islam spread.

4. Which sentence is true?

A. Monks were the first to drink coffee.

B. Too much coffee can make people anxious.

C. Brazilians liked drinking coffee the most.

5. Around the world more people drink coffee than tea because _____.

A. coffee berries can be eaten

B. coffee has the most caffeine

C. coffee can prevent fatigue and delay sleep

先通读下面的短文，然后根据短文内容和所给首字母，在空格内填入一个适当的词，使短文意思完整。所填单词在答卷上必须完整写出。（本大题共6分，每格0.5分）

I think life will be very different in one hundred years’ time. Some things will be b___1_ and some things will be worse.

Firstly, people won’t l_2___ on the land of the earth. Our cities will be in large domes(圆顶屋) under the sea. Special machines will p___3_ oxygen and light but the environment won’t be the same.

Secondly, trees and plants won’t grow because t__4___ won’t be any soil. As a result, people won’t be able to grow crops, food will mainly be in the f__5__ of pills. If the sea isn’t too polluted, people will eat f___6__.

What’s more, I think people’s e__7__ life will be different. They won’t have to w_8___ long hours because computers will help them. No one will have to do housework, e_9___.

Finally, I believe that everyone will be able to travel to the moon, to other p___10__ and perhaps even to other galaxies(星系) f___11__ a holiday.

In a w_12___, I think that in the future we will live in the interesting places.