Autumn means different things to different people. It all depends on your personality, said British naturalist Richard Mabey. "Personality shapes your view of the season," he said. "You may see it as a fading away, a packing up（结束）, or as a time of packing in another sense – the excited gathering of resources before a long journey."
If this is true, perhaps it tells us a little about, for instance, Thomas Hood, the 19th Century English poet. About November, he wrote:
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees
November!
On the other hand, another English poet John Keats, already sensing he was seriously ill, was inspired by a late September day to pen one of the most famous poems in the English language, To Autumn. He wrote to a friend afterwards that there was something comforting and healing about it.
According to Richard Mabey, Keats has the biological evidence on his side. Autumn is not a time of slowing down, but a time of new beginnings and great movements of creatures. For example, just at the moment that Keats's "gathering swallows" （in To Autumn） are departing for Africa, millions of creatures are fleeing from the frozen north like Iceland, Greenland and Russia to winter along the east and south coasts of Britain. According to scientists, before falling, the leaves transfer their chlorophyll（叶绿素） and carbohydrates into the woody parts of the tree for safe-keeping over winter. What remains are the natural antioxidants（防老剂） in the leaves: the yellow and orange carotenoids（类胡萝卜素）, and another protective chemical specially produced for autumn, the bright-red anthocyanin（花青素）. High color is not a signal of deterioration（退化） and decline, but of detox（排毒的） ability and good health.
A century after Keats, the American poet Loren Eiseley wrote in his journal: "Suppose we saw ourselves burning like maples in a golden autumn. [And that we could] disintegrate（瓦解） like autumn leaves…dropping their substance like chlorophyll. Would not our attitude towards death be different?"
【小题1】From Thomas Hood’s poem, we may infer that _______.

In autumn, leaves turn yellow and _________ the trees.

A. fall out             B. fall off             C. fall down            D. fall over

完成句子（共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分）

阅读下列各小题，根据括号内的汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成句子，并将答案写在答题卡上的相应题号后。

1．Do remember to remind her            (关掉) the gas before she leaves. (turn)

2．Lots of policemen were sent to prevent them            (砍) the trees. (cut)

3．           (为何他们突然消失) then still remains a mystery. (disappear)

4．Giving children whatever they want            (对他们有害). (harmful)

5．I feel so sick. I wish Mum            (没有逼我) to eat so much. (force)

6．These chemical changes produced a chain reaction, which            (使可能) for life to develop. (make)

7．           (如果时间允许), I hope to visit the museum. (permit)

8．The house            (他付了) a large sum of money three years ago is now worth twice as much. (pay)

9．With such a lot of work on hand, he            (不应该去) to the cinema last night. (should)

10．           (他设法) carry out the experiment last year has encouraged his workmates greatly. (manage)

We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves. Did you ever wonder how and why a fall leaf changes color? Where do the yellows and oranges come from? To answer those questions, we first have to understand what leaves are and what they do.

      Leaves are nature's food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots. They take a gas called carbon dioxide from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose, which is a kind of sugar. Plants use glucose as food for energy and as a building block for growing. The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis, which means " putting together with light. " A chemical called chlorophyll helps make photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color.

      As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter.

      During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small a-mounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. Covered up by the green chlorophyll, we just can't see them in summer.

     The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.

     It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful colors we enjoy in the fall.

1.The writer asked two questions in the beginning in order to        .

    A. persuade readers to believe something

    B. introduce the topic of the passage

    C. get the readers excited

D. offer something to think over

2. Which of the following is True according to the passage?

    A. Trees don't change colours with seasons.

    B. Trees can still perform photosynthesis well in winter.

    C. Trees have colours like yellow and orange even in summer.

D. Trees don't need food in winter.

3.Photosynthesis is a way that ___________________________.

A. plants change water and carbon dioxide into sugar

B. plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar with the help of sunlight

C. plants use glucose as food for energy and growing

D. chlorophyll is a great help

4. Which is the best title for this passage?

    A. Colorful trees in autumn            B. Mysteries of tree colors

C. Do you enjoy tree colors?           D. Wonderful colors in autumn

完成句子（共10小题；每小题1.5分，满分15分）

阅读下列各小题，根据括号内的汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成句子，并将答案写在答题卡上的相应题号后。

1．Do remember to remind her            (关掉) the gas before she leaves. (turn)

2．Lots of policemen were sent to prevent them            (砍) the trees. (cut)

3．          (为何他们突然消失) then still remains a mystery. (disappear)

4．Giving children whatever they want            (对他们有害). (harmful)

5．I feel so sick. I wish Mum            (没有逼我) to eat so much. (force)

6．These chemical changes produced a chain reaction, which            (使可能) for life to develop. (make)

7．          (如果时间允许), I hope to visit the museum. (permit)

8．The house            (他付了) a large sum of money three years ago is now worth twice as much. (pay)

9．With such a lot of work on hand, he            (不应该去) to the cinema last night. (should)

10．          (他设法) carry out the experiment last year has encouraged his workmates greatly. (manage)