A friend of mine met with an accident driving in darkness. His legs were so hurt that he couldn’t move. What was the   1  was he found himself unable to ask for help-his mobile phone went out of   2  as a result of exhausted battery. Nothing could be done but to

  3  in cold wilderness. It was 8 hours later that day broke, and then the   4  of the rescue.

It is almost   5  that he could stand the horror in the darkness for so long. Even more surprising was his  6 : “First of all I checked up my   7  conditions and found myself not in fatal danger. As there was no    8  to call for help, I leaned back in my seat trying my best to keep the wound from  9 .  In this way I dozed (打盹) off.”

His story put an end to my regret for the   10  of an exploration adventure that happened last year. A group of young men   11  to explore a mountain cave and got lost.

  12  to find a way out in the dark cave they were frightened and ran anxiously without a sense of   13 . Finally they fell dead in fear and exhaustion. According to the   14  

people that found them, the place where they got lost was only about 10 meters away from the

  15  of the cave. If they stayed on the spot when they lost their way and tried to   16 

themselves, they would probably sense a faint light glimmering (闪烁) not far away.

Don’t you think that you can compare it with   17  itself? When you meet with obstacles in life and work, you are lost in darkness.   18  you it’s unclear yet and you needn’t put up struggle   19 . It seems to be a negative attitude,  20  a person who can afford to do so must have foresight as well as a great courage in the first place.

1.                A．hopeless        B．worst          C．more D．best

2.                A．service         B．way            C．order    D．work

3.                A．cry            B．lie             C．wait D．sleep

4.                A．delay          B．success         C．team D．arrival

5.                A．untrue         B．unimaginable    C．true D．useless

6.                A．plan           B．decision        C．explanation    D．excuse

7.                A．physical        B．mental         C．working  D．medical

8.                A．method        B．way            C．alternative D．strength

9.                A．rotting         B．spreading       C．hurting   D．bleeding

10.               A．loss           B．failure         C．disappointment D．sadness

11.               A．had           B．managed       C．tried  D．planned

12.               A．Willing         B．Unable         C．Determined    D．Deciding

13.               A．hearing        B．sight           C．feeling    D．direction

14.               A．rescue         B．village          C．local  D．brave

15.               A．end           B．top            C．opening   D．side

16.               A．save           B．help           C．stop  D．calm

17.               A．adventure      B．work           C．life   D．mankind

18.               A．Mind          B．Watch         C．Imagine   D．Warn

19.               A．really          B．immediately     C．carefully   D．hopefully

20.               A．and           B．so             C．but   D．while

Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination and physical, cognitive (认知的), and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, and to resolve conflicts.

??? Ideally, much of play involves adults, but when play is controlled by adults, children acquiesce (顺从) to adult rules and concerns and lose some of the benefits play offers them, particularly in developing creativity, leadership, and group skills. In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies. In fact, it has been suggested that encouraging unstructured play may be an exceptional way to increase physical activity levels in children, which is one important strategy in the resolution of the obesity problem.

??? Children’s development is critically influenced by appropriate, affective relationships with loving and consistent caregivers as they relate to children through play. When parents observe their children in play or join with them in child-driven play, they are given a unique opportunity to see the world from their children’s vantage point as the child navigates a world perfectly created just to fit his or her needs. The interactions that occur through play tell children that parents are fully paying attention to them and help to build enduring relationships. Parents who have the opportunity to look at their children’s world learn to communicate more effectively with their children and are given another setting to offer guidance. Less verbal children may be able to express their views, giving their parents an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of their perspective. Quite simply, play offers parents a wonderful opportunity to engage fully with their children.

??? Play is essential to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to strengthen children’s learning willingness. Social-emotional learning is best integrated (融合) with academic learning; it is concerning if some of the forces that enhance children’s ability to learn are improved at the expense of others. Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-emotional learning.

1.Compared with undirected play, play which is controlled by adults ________.

A. doesn’t benefit the children at all

B. doesn’t help develop leadership and group skills

C. makes children become more active

D. helps increase physical activity levels

2.The third paragraph mainly tells us that ________.

A. play offers parents a good chance to establish good relationships with children

B. children’s development is greatly influenced by relationships with parents

C. play helps children better express their views

D. play offers parents a unique opportunity to see the world from a different perspective

3.From the last paragraph, we know that ________.

A. play can’t help children become adapted to the school setting

B. play makes social-emotional learning and academic learning separated

C. play is beneficial to social-emotional learning as well as academic learning

D. it is necessary to strengthen children’s academic development at the expense of others

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Undirected play can help children develop team spirit.

B. Play can improve children’s willingness to learn.

C. Play helps adults gain a better understanding of the children’s thoughts.

D. Adults shouldn’t be involved in children’s play.

Have you ever wondered why the roots of the plants always know which way to grow—into the soil but not above it? Some British scientists have recently solved this mystery.

It turns out that roots have special hairs that tie them into the soil and help them grow their way past obstacles, a team at the John Inners Center in Norwich reports in the February 29 issue of Journal Science.

“The key is in the fuzzy(有绒毛的)coat of hairs on the roots of plants,” says professor Liam Dolan. “We have found a growth control system that enables these hairs to find their way and to become longer when their path is clear.”

Root hairs explore the soil in much the same way a person would feel their way in the dark. If they come across an obstacle, they make their way around until they can continue growing in an opening. In the meantime, the plant is held in place as the hairs grip(紧紧抓住)the soil.

The hairs are guided by a clever chemical trick. A protein(蛋白质) at the tip of the root hairs called RHD2 helps them to take calcium(钙) from the soil. Calcium makes the hairs grow, and produce more RHD2, and take more calcium.

But when an obstacle blocks the hair’s path, or the hair reaches the surface of the soil, the cycle is broken and growth starts in another direction.

This system gives plants the flexibility to explore a complex environment and to live in even the most unpromising soils, says Dolan.

In poor soils such as in parts of Australia and Africa, native plants have adapted by producing enormous numbers of root hairs. A better understanding of this adaptation will allow scientists to develop hairy rooted crops that can grow in unfriendly environments.

According to Dolan, “Research in the John Inners Center is taking a breeding approach to increase hair length in wheat but it will be some time before new cultivars(栽培变种) are developed.”

1.The passage is mainly about _______.

2.How does the circle work?

3.We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.

While all my classmates seen to be crazy about a one-way ticket to Mars(火星), I’d rather say Mars is totally unsuitable for human existence. People won’t have enough food supplies there, and the terrible environment would make it impossible for them to live a long life. Besides, the journey won’t be safe. Can anybody explain to me just why people would go to Mars, never to return?
Steve Minear, UK
Here are the things you can think of: the desire to explore a foreign and unique environment, the excitement of being the first humans to open up a new world, the expectation of fame and glory…For scientists there is another reason. Their observations and research will probably lead to great scientific achievements.
Donal Trollop, Canada
There are already too many people on the Earth. I think that sometime before the end of the century, there will be a human colony(殖民地)on Mars. It will happen when people finally realize that tow-way trips to the red planet Mars are unnecessary. Most of the danger of space Flight is in the launches(发射) and landings. Cutting the trip home would therefore reduce the danger of accidents, save a lot of money, and open the way to building an everlasting human settlement on another world.
Enough supplies can be sent on ahead. And every two years more supplies and more people will needs, and Mars is far more pleasant than the other planets in the outer space.
Paul Davies. USA
【小题1】 The main purpose of Steve Minear’s writing is     .

Wilderness activity week, Finland

Set off on a really wild adventure to Finland, where night is a distant memory during the endless days of summer.

From your cottage, set high in the hills above Koli National Park, you can explore a perfect wilderness, and pull over at a lakeside beach whenever you like a dip（游泳）.

Seven-night breaks cost from ￡899 per adult, ￡699 per child, including flights, accommodation, some meals and a guide.  The Adventure Company (0845 450 5311; www.adventurecompany. co. uk).

Horseriding in the Tarn France

Learn to ride, or perfect your horse-riding skills at Les Juliannes in the Tarn Valley.  Activities include everything from show-jumping to hacking（骑马）through the rolling hills and medieval（中世纪的）villages.  Between sessions, you can relax by the pool, cycle along the country lanes or roam the grounds.  Guests stay at a rural 17th-century farmhouse.

Seven-night breaks cost from ￡658 per adult, ￡628 per child aged 12-15 years.  ￡553 for 10 to 11-year-olds and ￡423 for under-nines.  Price includes return flights, transfers, half-board accommodation and ten hours’ riding, Inntravel（01653 617906；www. inntravel. co. uk）.

Learn to sail in Greece

Sunvil Sailing has live-aboard learn-to-sail breaks off the island of Lefkas that are designed for both the complete novice（新手）as well as those with a degree of sailing.

Seven-night breaks cost from ￡721pp in peak season, including return flights, transfers, live-aboard accommodation and tuition.  Meals and dinner ashore are not included.  Sunvil Sailing  (020 8758 4780; www. sunvil. co. uk).

If you want to have some experiences of country life in the past, you’d better go to        .

A. explore a perfect wilderness

B. stay for a few days in Finland

C. Horseriding in the Tarn, France

D.  Learn to sail in Greece

How much would a family of two adults and a ten-year-old boy pay altogether if they join in Horseriding in the Tarn, France?

A. ￡2030            B. ￡1316                        C. ￡1869                 D. ￡1211

  If you join in Wilderness activity week, Finland, the most unusual thing you will see is           .

A. a national park

B. a cottage high in the hills

C. a perfect wilderness

D.  summer days without night

If you want to learn to sail in Greece, you can log on to             to find more information.

A. www.  activitiesabroad. com

B. www. adventurecompany. co. uk

C. www. inntravel. co. uk

D. www. sunvil. co. uk