The koala(考拉) is possibly one of the best known Australian animals, and is found in four states: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The word “koala” comes from an Australian aboriginal word meaning “no drink”.

Sometimes people call them “koala bears” but koala is not a bear. It belongs to a special group of Australian mammals, called marsupial(有袋类). Female marsupials have a pouch where the baby animals live after they are born.

Koalas have soft, thick, grey or brown fur on their backs. The fur on the stomach is white. Koala that live in the south have thicker fur than those in the north because of the cold winters, whereas the koalas in the northern part of the country live in warm to hot weather most of the year so have thinner fur. A koala has a large hairless nose and round ears. Koalas don’t have tails. Adult koalas measure between 7 and 14 kilograms.

Koalas spend nearly all their time in the trees using their sharp, curved claws and long toes to climb about and to hold on to the tree branches. They sleep most of the day, and feed and move from tree to tree mainly at night.

The reason koala sleep for much of the day is because their food eucalyptus(桉树) leaves are very tough so they use a lot of energy to digest. Sleeping saves energy. Eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to almost every other animal. Koalas rarely drink water; they get water from the leaves they eat.

Each koala has a home range made up of several trees that they visit regularly. They normally do not visit another koala’s home trees except that a male is looking for a female to mate with.

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true about the name “koala bear”?

A．The name was given by the native in Australia

B．The word “koala” is an original English word

C．The name describes one of its living habits

D．The name is partly false

2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “punch”？

A．House            B．Cave             C．Pocket            D．Nest

3.Why do the koalas live in the south have thicker fur than those in the north?

A．The thicker fur can protect them from the colder weather

B．It’s always hot in summer in the north

C．It’s always cold in the winter in the south

D．They have to move to the north in the winter

4.Why do koalas sleep much in the day?

A．Their foods are poisonous

B．They want to save energy for the activities at night

C．They can’t get enough energy from their tough foods

D．They can’t get enough water from their leaves

The koala(考拉) is possibly one of the best known Australian animals, and is found in four states: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The word “koala” comes from an Australian aboriginal word meaning “no drink”.

Sometimes people call them “koala bears” but koala is not a bear. It belongs to a special group of Australian mammals, called marsupial(有袋类). Female marsupials have a pouch where the baby animals live after they are born.

Koalas have soft, thick, grey or brown fur on their backs. The fur on the stomach is white. Koala that live in the south have thicker fur than those in the north because of the cold winters, whereas the koalas in the northern part of the country live in warm to hot weather most of the year so have thinner fur. A koala has a large hairless nose and round ears. Koalas don’t have tails. Adult koalas measure between 7 and 14 kilograms.

Koalas spend nearly all their time in the trees using their sharp, curved claws and long toes to climb about and to hold on to the tree branches. They sleep most of the day, and feed and move from tree to tree mainly at night.

The reason koala sleep for much of the day is because their food eucalyptus(桉树) leaves are very tough so they use a lot of energy to digest. Sleeping saves energy. Eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to almost every other animal. Koalas rarely drink water; they get water from the leaves they eat.

Each koala has a home range made up of several trees that they visit regularly. They normally do not visit another koala’s home trees except that a male is looking for a female to mate with.

1.Which of the following statements is NOT true about the name “koala bear”?

A．The name was given by the native in Australia

B．The word “koala” is an original English word

C．The name describes one of its living habits

D．The name is partly false

2. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “punch”？

A．House            B．Cave             C．Pocket            D．Nest

3.Why do the koalas live in the south have thicker fur than those in the north?

A．The thicker fur can protect them from the colder weather

B．It’s always hot in summer in the north

C．It’s always cold in the winter in the south

D．They have to move to the north in the winter

4. Why do koalas sleep much in the day?

A．Their foods are poisonous

B．They want to save energy for the activities at night

C．They can’t get enough energy from their tough foods

D．They can’t get enough water from their leaves

  Looking back on my childhood, I get to believe that naturalists are born and not made． Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon threw away their pressed flowers and insects． Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages． I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic．

  Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary． I have only the unclear memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys． Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door． But I do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds and, above all, the insects．

  I am a naturalist, not a scientist． I have a strong love of the natural world, and my enthusiasm（热情） has led me into varied investigations（调查）． I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil while reading about other people’s observations and discoveries． Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind． Suddenly you wonder you see the answer to the riddle（迷）, because it all seems to fit together． This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honour with the title of scientific research．

  But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist; one of the outstanding qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack． A scientist requires not only self-discipline but hard training, determination and a goal． A scientist, up to a point, can be made． A naturalist is born． If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds．

53． The first paragraph tells us that the author ___．

     A． was born to a naturalist’s family

     B． lost his hearing when he was a child

     C． didn’t like his brothers and sisters

     D． was interested in flowers and insects

54． The author can’t remember his relatives clearly because ____．

     A． he didn’t live long with them

     B． he was fully busy observing nature          

       C． the family was too large to remember

     D． he was too young when he lived with them

55． It can be inferred from the passage that the author was ____

     A． a naturalist but not a scientist    

     B． more a good observer than a listener

     C． no more than a born naturalist

     D． a scientist as well as a naturalist

56． The author says he’s a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he ___．

     A． lacks some of the qualities required of a scientist

     B． he couldn’t do mental arithmetic

     C． he was brought up in a family of farmers

     D． he was not knowledgeable enough

Last week, I bought an alarm system for about $ 450. It consisted of a control unit with three small units. I put the control unit in the sitting-room and fastened the other units by the front door, back door and living-room windows. The instructions told us to choose three numbers, so we chose 4, 9 and 1, the last three numbers of our telephone number.

Now I must explain how the alarm works:

l There is a power siren(警报器) in the control unit. It makes a very loud noise.

2 Each of the small units sends out beams or rays in different directions. If anything moves, it breaks a beam. This sends a signal to the control unit. The siren makes a noise which you can hear 50 meters away.

3. When we go to bed, I press the three buttons numbered 4, 9 and 1. Then we have 30 seconds to get out of the room before the alarm starts to work.

That night I slept soundly because I was sure that no burglar(夜贼) could get into our house. However, at about 2:10 a. m., I woke up and heard the siren. “There must be a burglar in the house,” Mary said. “What shall we do?”“I’ll go and see who’s there,” I said. “Stay here. Don’t make a noise.”I went downstairs quietly. When I reached the living-room, I switched on my torch and looked round the room. Then I turned the light on. I switched the siren off and searched the rooms downstairs. There was nothing wrong except that the back door was unlocked. I locked it, reset the alarm and went back to bed. About an hour later, the alarm started again. I jumped out of bed, fell over a chair in the dark and bumped into the bedroom door. Mary woke up and started hitting me with a torch. “Hey! Wait a minute!” I whispered. “It’s only me. I’m going downstairs to see what’s wrong.”I went down into the living-room and listened for a moment. The only sound I could hear was the siren. I turned on the light and then switched the siren off. As I did so, I glanced across at the curtains in front of the windows. I saw a house lizard (a kind of small animal) disappear behind the curtains.“Oh!” I said to myself. “That’s our burglar. ”When the lizard moved, it started the siren. I guessed that the alarm had been made in Europe, where there are no house lizards. Well. I won’t finish this story but if you want an alarm system free of charge, let me know. I’ll send you ours. We bought a dog this morning. It knows the difference between a lizard and a burglar.

1.The writer bought an alarm system to ________.

2.The purpose of the three units was to________.

3.If the writer set the alarm and remained in the room for more than half a minute, _______.

4.The purpose of the writer in writing the passage is to ________.

Last week, I bought an alarm system(报警系统) for about $ 450. It consisted of a control unit with three other small units. I put the control unit in the sitting room and fastened the other units by the front door, back door and living-room windows. The instructions told us to choose three numbers, so we chose 491, the last three numbers of our telephone number.

Now I must explain how the alarm works:

1. There is a power siren(警报器) in the control unit. It makes a very loud noise.

2. Each of the small units sends out beams(光束) or rays in different directions. If anything moves, it breaks a beam. This sends a signal to the control unit. The siren makes a noise that you can hear 50 meters away.

3. When we go to bed, I press the three buttons numbered 4, 9 and 1. Then we have 30 seconds to get out of the room before the alarm starts to work.

That might I slept soundly because I was sure that no burglar(夜贼) could get into our house. However, at about 2:10a.m., I woke up and heard the siren(警报).

“There must be a burglar in the house,” Mary said. “What shall we do?”

“I’ll go and see who’s there,” I said. “Stay here. Don’t make a noise.”

I went downstairs quietly. When I reached the living room, I switched on my torch and looked round the room. Then I turned the light on. I switched the siren off and searched the rooms downstairs. There was nothing wrong except that the back door was unlocked. I locked it, re-set the alarm and went back to bed.

About an hour later, the alarm started again. I jumped out of bed, fell over a chair in the dark and bumped into the bedroom door. Mary woke up and started hitting me with a torch. “Hey! Wait a minute!” I whispered. “It’s only me. I’ m going downstairs to see what’s wrong.”

I went down into the living room and listened for a moment. The only sound I could hear was the siren. I turned on the light and then switched the siren off. As I did so, I glanced across at the curtains in front of the windows. I saw a house lizard (蜥蜴) disappear behind the curtains.

“Oh!” I said to myself. “That’s our burglar.”

When the lizard moved, it started the siren. I guessed that the alarm had been made in Europe, where there are no house lizards.

Well, I won’t finish this story but if you want an alarm system free of charge, let me know. I’ll send you ours. We bought a dog this morning. It knows the difference between a lizard and a burglar.

39. The writer bought an alarm system to         .

 A．make sure that he got up early every day

 B．warn him when there were lizards in his house

 C．frighten burglars and tell him that somebody had got into the house

 D．make Mary feel safe to live in the large room

40. The purpose of the three units was to           .

 A．send a message to the control unit and start the siren

 B．sound their own sirens when the control unit told them to

 C．check that the control unit worked properly all the time

 D．give them enough light

41. If the writer set the alarm and remained in the room for more than half a minute,          .

 A．nothing would happen B．the control unit would not work

 C．the siren would make a noise D．the dog would bark

42. The purpose of the writer in writing the passage is to            .

 A．tell us that the alarm system doesn’t work

 B．tell us an interesting experience

 C．show us how the alarm system works

 D．make it clear that he wants to give away his alarm system