In parts of Africa, the sky is filled with a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.

And in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of rice if www..comthey can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts. The radio station is in one of Senegal’s worst affected regions.

This is West Africa’s biggest locust disaster in 15 years, and it is moving east, causing huge damage to crops. As they move, they breed, and increase their number and will soon threaten Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it could reach Asia.

Experts say the great damage to crops in areas already suffering from food shortages and war could cause many people to go hungry. Governments in the region are not well equipped to fight the pest.

Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough. “We are now treating 6,000 hectares per day with pesticide, but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,” said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania.

Requests are being made for international aid, which is the only way to limit the crisis, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned.

1. The purpose of offering people rice for catching locusts in Senegal is ________.

A. to get more people to eat rice so as to leave less for locusts

B. to get more people involved in the war on the locusts

C. to prevent more people from starvation

D. to get more people to listen to the radio report on locusts

2. Which of the following is not the reason for West Africans going hungry?

A. Locust disaster causes the great damage to crops.

B. Food supply is far from the need of the people.

C. These regions are affected by the war.

D. Governments are unwilling to fight the pest.

3. It can be concluded that, in order to end the locust disaster, ________.

A. leaders of 12 countries in West Africa should call on their people to take action

B. insects experts should be sent to these regions

C. other countries outside Africa should keep close watch on their own lands

D. Help from all over the world is in urgent demand

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Food shortage in Africa.              B. International aid to Africa.

C. The insects attack on Africa.          D. Terrible storm in Africa.

In 1927 Benjamin Franklin founded one of the first adult-education organizations, ____ the Junto.

A、has been called  B、to call  C、a group called   D、which group called

In most towns today, you can see teenagers standing over electronic machines with flashing lights, shooting at spaceships from other planets and dropping bombs on strange monsters(恶魔). The machines have names like Space Warrior, Dark Invader and so on. It used to be believed that damage was done only to those strange visitors from outer space, but now it seems that they are striking back.

Many teenagers like electronic games so much that they can't stop playing. They spend hours tightly holding the joystick controls and constantly pressing buttons marked "fire". They develop pains on their fingers because of the constant pressure. They play and play that the pains have no chance to cure properly. The rapid wrist movement required to guide the spaceship across the screen causes another problem: the muscles of the wrist and arm become so inflamed and swollen(充血红肿) that they press against the bones. This condition is what doctors now call "Space Warrior's Wrist". Other strange aches and pains are also likely to affect the elbows and shoulders.

Another even more alarming problem is shown by the case of a 17-year-old girl which was recently reported in the British Medical Journal. She had been playing various kinds of electronic games for more than two hours a day. Her father repaired games and machines and she could use the cassettes and systems in his workshop as often as she liked. One day, after playing a game called Dark Invader, she lost consciousness(知觉) and fell to the floor. Doctors who examined her found she was suffering from an unusual illness caused by lights flashing at a particular frequency.

Electronic games are found very popular with __________.

A. people living in towns                   B. students studying in high schools

C. girls working in their father's workshops     D. young people age about 13-19

"Space Warrior's Wrist" is caused by __________.

A. constantly pressing the buttons            B. rapidly moving across the screen

C. tightly holding the joystick controls        D. inflamed and swollen muscles of the wrist

The case of a 17-year-old girl given by the writer shows that the writer __________.

A. supports playing electronic games        B. feels very sorry for the girl

C. disagreed with young people's playing electronic games

D. feels happy about young people's poor health

From the passage we can conclude that playing electronic games is __________.

A. enjoyable and helpful to the study

B. exciting but harmful to the health and study

C. interesting but harmless to the eyes

D. amusing and satisfying

  In a recently published book, I came across some exercises with interesting names such as fishbone diagrams, lotus flowers and clustering. As I used these exercises in my classes, I noticed that students were interested. They said more and wrote more. They enjoyed expressing their ideas and sharing them in groups. They were no longer passively waiting for the bell , but actively taking part in the lesson. I find that creativity can act as a way to increase participation and improve fluency.

Creativity has become a popular word in recent years. Scholars in arts, psychology, business, education and science are all working to get a deeper understanding of it. Robert J. Stemberg is a creativity specialist and Yale professor of psychology. He defines creativity as “the ability to produce work that is both new (original) and appropriate(applicable to the situation ) ”. this definition is useful, as we want our students to use language in a new way and to use it correctly and properly. Mot scholars say there are two types of creativity: big “C” creativity and small “c” creativity. Big “C” creativity refers to genius level thinking that results in artistic masterpieces and scientific breakthroughs. Small “c” creativity refers to everyday level thinking that can be used in any situation our emphasis is on the latter. While it goes without saying that any of our students could go on to be the next Picasso or Edison, our aim is to help students produce more ideas and use language in a new way.

The underlined words “waiting for the bell ” in the first paragraph probably means______.

A. longing for a phone call        B. hoping to have a bell   

C. expecting the end of the class    D. waiting to speak in the class

It can be inferred from the passage that the author thinks the exercises in the book were _____.

 A. popular    B. useful    C. scientific     D. creative   

When you use a familiar word in a new way, you are ________.

A creative in the sense of big “C” creativity.

B. creative in the sense of small “c” creativity..

C. not creative in the sense of big “C” creativity..

D. not creative in the sense of small “c” creativity.

The main purpose of the passage is to _________.

A. show how useful the book is.

B, explain what creativity 

C. discuss how one can be creative 

D. tell what reaching aims at 

In ancient Japan, if you saved someone’s life, they would make it their duty to spend the rest of their life serving you. Nowadays, if you rescue someone’s story, he or she will feel the same kind of gratitude(感激).

It happens all the time. Someone in a group is telling a story and, just before their big point, BOOM! There’s an interruption. Someone new joins the group, a waiter with a plate of biscuits comes over, or a baby starts crying. Suddenly everyone’s attention turns to the new arrival, the food on the plate, or the “charming” little child. Nobody is aware of the interruption — except the speaker. They forget all about the fact that the speaker hasn’t made his or her point.

Or you’re all sitting around the living room and someone is telling a joke. Suddenly, just before his big punch line(妙语), little Johnny drops a dish or the phone rings. After the crash, everyone talks about little Johnny’s carelessness. After the call, the subject turns to the upcoming marriage or medical operation of the caller. Nobody remembers the great punch line got unfinished — except the joke teller. When it’s you entertaining everyone at a restaurant, have you ever noticed how you can almost set your clock by the waiter coming to take everyone’s order just before your funny punch line?

Most joke and story tellers are too shy to say, after the interruption, “Now, as I was saying…” Instead, they’ll spend the rest of the evening feeling bad they didn’t get to finish. Here’s where you come in. Rescue them with the technique I call “Lend a Helping Tongue.”

Watch the gratitude in the storyteller’s eyes as he stabilizes where his story sunk and he sails off again toward the center of attention. His expression and the appreciation of your consideration by the rest of the group are often reward enough. You are even more fortunate if you can rescue the story of someone who can hire you, promote you, buy from you, or otherwise lift your life. Big winners have excellent memories. When you do them subtle favors like Lend a Helping Tongue, they find a way to pay you back.

Very often, a storyteller cannot make his point because ______.

A. people are more interested in food than his story

B. many guests bring their babies to the party

C. his story is easily forgotten by the listeners

D. he is interrupted by something unexpected

From Paragraph 3, we know that when someone is telling a joke, ______.

A. something bad will surely happen just before their punch line

B. the only person really interested in the joke is the joke teller

C. listeners’ attention is often drawn to something else

D. the waiter knows when to take everyone’s order

How can we “Lend a Helping Tongue” to the story tellers, according to the writer?

A. Comfort them to make them happy.            B. Give them a chance to finish.

C. Go on telling the story for them.                    D. Teach them some useful techniques.

What is the text mainly about?

A. People should learn how to take turns in a conversation.

B. Telling jokes will make you the center of attention.

C. We can win someone’s heart by getting him back to his story.

D. It is impolite to cut in on someone’s talk.