Edward Wilson is America’s, if not the world’s, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world’s natural resources(资源). How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity(生物多样性)of our earth.
Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment (环境) protection, Henry David Thoreau. He compares today’s Walden Pond with that of Thoreau’s day. Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clear: man has done great damage to his home over the years. Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?
Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species(物种) are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas.
At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the ideas in this book.

1. 1.

   We learn form the text that Wilson cares most about ______

   1. A.
      the environment for plants
   2. B.
      the biodiversity of our earth
   3. C.
      the wastes of natural resources
   4. D.
      the importance of human values
2. 2.

   How many species are most important to our present food supply?

   1. A.
      Twenty.
   2. B.
      Eighty.
   3. C.
      One hundred
   4. D.
      Ten thousand.
3. 3.

   Wilson suggests that one way to keep biodiversity is to _______.

   1. A.
      learn how to farm scientifically
   2. B.
      build homes for some dying species
   3. C.
      make it clear what to eat
   4. D.
      use more species for food
4. 4.

   We can infer that the text is _______

   1. A.
      a description of natural resources
   2. B.
      a research report
   3. C.
      a book review
   4. D.
      an introduction to a scientist.
5. 5.

   Edward Wilson is _______

   1. A.
      a pioneer in environment protection
   2. B.
      an American scientist in environment protection
   3. C.
      a world-famous scientist in Asia
   4. D.
      a well-known expert in nature in U.S.A

When I was young, I went looking for gold in California. I never found enough to make a rich strike. But I did discover a beautiful part of the country called Stanislau. Like Heaven on Earth, it had bright green hills and deep forests where soft winds touched the trees. By the time I arrived, the charming paradise had been deserted because miners’ good luck didn’t last.

Then, I realized I was not alone after all.

A man was smiling at me as he stood in front of his little house. Its front yard was full of blue and yellow flowers. White curtains hung from the windows and floated in the soft summer wind.

Still smiling, the man invited me inside. My spirit seemed to come to life again. I saw a bright rug on the shining wooden floor. And on little tables there were seashells, books and china vases full of flowers. A woman had made this house into a home. The delight in my heart showed on my face. The man read my thoughts. “All her work.” He said affectionately, “Nothing here hasn’t felt the touch of her hand.”

One picture on the wall was not hanging straight. He went to fix it. He stepped back several times to make sure the picture was straight. Then he gave it a gentle touch. “She always does that,” he explained, “It is like the finishing pat a mother gives her child’s hair after she has brushed it. I don’t know why I do it. I just do it.”

As he talked, I went to a little black-walnut shelf that held a small picture of the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. There was a sweetness and softness in the woman’s expression. The man stared at the picture. “Nineteen her last birthday. That was the day we married. When you see her...ah, just wait until you meet her!” “Where is she now?” I asked. “Oh, she is away visiting her parents. This is Wednesday,” he said slowly. “She will be back on Saturday, in the evening.”

That night, I stayed. The man told me his name was Henry.

Thursday evening we had two visitors, Tom and Joe. “We just drop over to ask when little madam is coming home. Any news from her?” “Oh yes,” the man replied. “A letter.” He took a yellowed letter out of his wallet and read it. It was full of loving messages. While reading, he glimpsed his friends and cried out, “Oh no, you are doing it again, Tom! Take your hands away and let me see your eyes. I’m going to tell her this time!” “No, you mustn’t do that, Henry,” the grey-haired miner said. “I am getting old. And any little sorrow makes me cry. Lord, we miss her so.”

Saturday finally came.

I was glad to see his two friends, Tom and Joe, with guitars, coming down the road as the sun began to set. They put the flowers they brought in vases and began to play some fast and lively songs.

Henry’s friends kept giving him glasses of whiskey. When I reached for one of the two remaining glasses, Tom stopped my arm. “Drop that! Take the other.” he whispered. I did so. Henry was served last. He had hardly swallowed his drink when the clock struck midnight. His face grew pale and paler. “Boys,” he said, “I am sick with fear. Help! I want to lie down.” Henry was asleep almost before the words were out of his mouth.

In a moment, those handy men had his clothes off and tucked him into his bed. They seemed to be getting ready to leave. So I said, “Please don’t go, gentlemen. She won’t know me. I am a stranger.” They glanced at each other. Then Joe said, “She? Poor thing, she’s been dead nineteen years!” “Dead?” I whispered. “That or worse.” he said.

“She went to see her folks half a year after she got married. On her way back, on a Saturday evening in June, when she was almost here, the Indians captured her. She’s never been heard of since. Henry went insane. But he only gets bad when that time of year comes round. Then we drop in here, three days before she’s due, to encourage him up and listen to him read the letter. Saturday we all come and get everything ready for a dance. We’ve done it for nineteen years. The first Saturday there were twenty-seven of us, but only two now. We drug him to sleep through the night. Then he’s all right for another year.”

The two old men opened the door and disappeared into the darkness of Stanislau.

1.You can sense the existence of a woman from the following sentences EXCEPT “______”.

A. Soft winds touched the trees in Stanislau.

B. There was a bright rug on the shining wooden floor.

C. There were seashells, books and china vases full of flowers.

D. A little black shelf held a small picture of a woman.

2.Tom cried when Henry read the yellowed letter, because ______.

A. he was getting older and older

B. he was moved by the loving messages in the letter

C. he felt sad at the thought of Henry’s wife

D. he was disappointed that Henry’s wife would arrive so late

3.Tom stopped my reaching for whiskey because ______.

A. there was not enough whiskey for Henry                B. he didn’t want me to get drunk

C. that glass of whiskey was drugged                    D. it was for Henry’s wife

4.The underlined word “insane” probably means “______”.

A. depressed                   B. disappointed            C. mad                 D. sick

5.It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

A. Henry’s wife was 38 when she was last seen

B. Tom and Joe have heard the letter many times

C. the author stayed in Henry’s house because he was lost

D. the two miners came on Saturday to share past memories

6.The story is mainly about ______.

A. ever-lasting love                                                      B. lifelong friendship

C. an unforgettable experience                                               D. charming Stanislau

I was sitting in class one day when a new kid came in , He was called Christian and he was short and wore a pair of glasses, He walked up to the teacher and told her ,very  36   ,that he was new , The teacher  37  to the empty desk next to me . He sat down , looked briefly at me ,and then looked  38   . I didn’t think he was very nice , and certainly not the   39  I would like to become friends with ,

Over the year，I 40 talked to him，but he smiled at me when our eyes met, always shyly, He never talked to anybody   41 me.

But one day I  42  the unkind kids who were teasing him．We made fun of him   43  in my head I knew it was wrong . “Haven’t you got any friends ?”A kid asked Christian，who had walked past us  44   .“No，he hasn’t got any friends．He’s too  45   .”I said．

Then Christian looked up at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen. My heart    46 .

In the weeks that followed, he never met my47 in class and never smiled at me. It was really hard for me to  48  to write him a note asking him to   49  it . I knew I had to because I couldn’t    50 the guilt and sadness that I felt  51  I saw him .

The next day in class, I wrote him a note   52 . About five minutes later .I turned and saw tears in his eyes. Later he told me that I would never realize how much my apology had  53   to him. Over the years at high school, we became    54 friends.

Apologies can really change your life , so never55  a chance to tell somebody you are sorry,

Little Robby, our neighbour’s nephew, carefully drew some water into a bowl and started for the door. How I hated this water rationing (定量供应). We were forced to bathe in the deep little pond we shared with Jessie, our cow. Wells were dry, and crops transformed to dust.

I watched Robby sitting down onto the steps to my house. Bees buzzed circling his hair, and he buzzed with them. I remembered his aunt’s words: I don’t know what I was thinking when I took him in. The crash killed my sister, and he wasn’t hurt, but he can’t talk. He’s in a world of all his own.

Why couldn’t she see the wonderful gifts this boy possessed? He was blessed with a loving nature and a deep admiration for all living things, and I knew he could talk to animals. My heart ached for Robby, who was to stay with us for the summer, and had already been the dearest part of our world, eagerly tending the garden with me and my husband, Tom.

On a string around Robby’s neck hung a whistle, in case he was ever lost or in danger. After all, he could not call out for help. But he knew perfectly well that the whistle was not a toy. Blowing on it would bring us both running. I had told him the story of the boy who cried wolf, and I knew he understood me.

I sighed as I cleared up the last supper dish. Every ounce of recycled water was saved for a tiny vegetable garden Robby had planted. Tom turned to me. “You know, honey, I’ve been thinking about...”

Before he could continue, a scream from the yard made us jump. My God! It’s Robby’s whistle! When we reached him, he was pointing excitedly to the sky. Looking up, we saw the most magnificent sight: Rain Clouds! “Robby! Quick! We need all the pots and pans!”

Robby raced with me to the house. A drop of water fell on my pot and then another. Soon the yard was enveloped in soaking, glorious rain. We all stood with faces held upward to feel the comfort of it. Tom picked up Robby and danced about the pots, shouting and whooping, “Rain for Robby!” Tom swung about to show me Robby’s face: he was laughing right out loud, “W-W-Wobby’s!” “Wobby’s … wain … Mom,” giggling（咯咯地笑）, and stretching out one tiny hand in the shape of a cup to catch the rain.

I hugged them both, tears of joy mixing with the rain.

1.The underlined phrase “the wonderful gifts” in the 3rd paragraph refers to Robby’s ______.

A．love for nature and all living things

B．kindness to help others around

C．independence since his childhood

D．readiness to accept what happened to him

2.It was because ______ that the author and her husband would run on hearing the whistle.

A．it was going to rain

B．Robby often surprised us with his whistle

C．something bad might happen to Robby.

D．Robby might find something special

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Robby was old enough, but still couldn’t speak.

B．Robby’s aunt regretted bringing Robby home.

C．Robby didn’t accept the author and Tom as his parents.

D．Robby happened to find the rain cloud and was terrified.

4.It can be concluded from the passage that ______.

A．we should show mercy for the disabled children

B．every child has his own talent however young he is

C．children from poor families take responsibilities earlier

D．children’s sensitive hearts are worthy to be taken care of

A Swedish man was dug out alive after being snowed in his car on a forest track for two months with no food, police and local media reported on Saturday.

The 45-year-old from southern Sweden was found on Friday, February17, too weak to say more than a few words.

He was found not far from the city of Umea in the north of Sweden by snowmobilers who thought they had come across a ruined car until they dug their way to a window and saw movement inside.

The man, who was lying in the back seat in a sleeping bag, said he had been in the car since December 19.

“Just incredible that he’s alive considering that he had no food, but also since it’s been really cold for some time after Christmas.” a rescue team member told regional daily Vasterbottens- Kuriren, which broke the news.

Ebbe Nyberg, duty officer at the Umea police, said police saw no reason to doubt that the man had been stuck in the car for a very long time.

“We would not make up something like this. The rescue services were on site too and saw the same as us.” he told Vasterbottens-Kuriren.

Umea University Hospital, where the man is recovering after being rescued by police and a rescue team, said in a statement he was doing well considering the circumstances.

Doctors at the hospital said humans would normally be able to survive for about four weeks without food. Besides eating snow, the man probably survived by going into a dormant-like(休眠似的) state, physician Stefan Branth told Vasterbottens-Kuriren.

“A bit like a bear that hibernates. Humans can do that.” he said. “He probably had a body temperature of around 31 degrees which the body adjusted to. Due to the low temperature, not much energy was used up.”

“Why the man ended up under the snow in the forest remains unknown,” police said.

1.Who found the Swedish man in the snow?

A．Snowmobilers      B．The police         C．A rescue team      D．Local people

2.“Police saw no reason to doubt that the man had been stuck in the car for a very long time.” implies that 　　　　.

A．police didn’t think it true                B．police were sure of the fact

C．police had some doubt on the fact          D．police had reasons to doubt the fact

3.The reason why the man could survive was most probably that 　　　　.

A．he was only forty-five year old             B．he did not use any energy

C．he slept in the sleeping bag                D．he was in a dormant-like state

4.Which is the correct order of the following events?

a．The Swedish man was stuck in the snow.     b．He was sent to Umea University Hospital.

c．He was found by snowmobilers.            d．He was recovering after treatment.

e．He stayed in his car for nearly two months.   f．He was dug out by people.

A．e, a, c, d, f, b       B．a, e, c, f, b, d        C．a, f, c, e, b, d       D．e, c, f, a, d, b

5.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．A Traffic Accident                       B．A Long Sleep in Winter

C．An Incredible Survival                    D．A Successful Rescue