It was early spring.The sun was strong and warm.I went over the hillside fields behind my village，__1__buntings and linnets，the birds I loved most.

I turned along a bush between two fields where I had seen the birds before，but on this fine day almost the first birds that I saw were winter visitors.I was__2__not to see a bunting straightaway，but I went on，stopping occasionally to look at the black-thorn (黑刺李) flowers in the bush，and ___3___I did hear a bunting singing.Or was it? Was I not perhaps turning a note of skylark (云雀) song into that of the song I was hoping to hear?

But the bunting's song was pretty clear，and within a few minutes I was proved___4__.The song was coming from the bush，and as I approached ___5__I saw the brown bird resting in a small tree.It opened its mouth，and__6__once more.Then it flew off.It was the only one I saw that day，but at least I had found one of the birds I had__7__.

It was not until I was on my way back home that I caught sight of some ___8__.I saw five of them gathering on the ground when I was just coming back beside the ___9__where I had found the bunting.As I came nearer，they flew up，spreading their tails so that their white edges ___10___ to look like a white fan in the sky.Then，to my___11__，some big pigeons suddenly came flying and joined the linnets.

A moment later they had all__12__ — but I had fulfilled my hopes for the day.

1．A.looking at B．looking for C．looking up D．looking after

2．A.disappointed B．dismissed C．dissatisfied　　　 D．disturbed

3．A.directly B．gradually 　C．suddenly　 D．immediately

4．A.proper　 B．right C．useful 　　 　D．true

5．A.sadly　　 B．hurriedly 　C．proudly 　 　D．quietly

6．A.danced　 B．ateC．sang D．shouted

7．A.observed B．noticed C．expected D．described

8．A.linnets B．skylarks C．pigeons　 D．buntings

9．A.bush B．road 　C．grass D．black-thorn

10．A.widened　　 B．enlarged C．lengthened D．expanded

11．A.knowledge B．pleasure C．amusement　 D．honor

12. A．gathered　　 B．lost C．missed D．gone

　Many people believe the glare（炫目的光）from snow causes snowblindness. Yet, with dark glasses or not, they find themselves suffering from headaches and watering eyes, and even snowblindness ,when exposed to several hours of“ snow light”.

　　The United States army has now determined that glare from snow does not cause snowblindness in troops in a snow -covered country. Rather ,a man’s eyes frequently find nothing to focus on （聚集） in a broad space of snow- covered without- grass land. So his gaze continually moves and jumps back and forth over the entire landscape in search of something to look at. Finding something, hour after hour, the eyes never stop searching and the eyeballs become tired and the eye muscles ache. Nature makes up for this discomfort by producing more and more fluid （流 体） which covers the eyeball. The fluid covers the eyeball in increasing quantity until it makes eyes difficult to see dearly, and the result is total, even though for a short time, snowblindness.

　　Experiments led the Army to a simple method of overcoming this problem. Scouts（侦察兵）ahead of the troops are trained to shake snow from evergreen bushes, creating a dotted line as they cross completely snow - covered landscape. Even the scouts themselves throw lightweight, dark - colored objects ahead on which they can focus too. The men following can then see something. Their gaze is arrested. Their eyes focus on a bush and having found something to see, stop searching the snow -blanketed landscape. By focusing their attention on one object at a time. the men can cross the snow without becoming hopelessly snowblind or lost. In this way the problem of crossing a continuous white land is overcome.

To prevent snowblindness caused by the strong light from snow, wearing glasses or not ________.

　　A. depends on whether the snow is white enough

　　B. makes no difference

　　C. makes much difference

　　D. depends on whether the snow is thick

When the eyes are tired, tears flow out ________.

　　A. to clear the vision

　　B. to make the eyes stop searching

　　C. to make the vision unclear

　　D. to produce more and more liquid

Snowblindness can be avoided ________.

　　A. by moving one’s gaze back and forth

　　B. by walking ahead and keeping looking around

　　C. by making up for the discomfort of one’s eyes

　　D. by providing the eyes with something to focus on

“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood.

One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for $1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door.

Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work. As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year. Bushes must be pruned(剪枝) in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later. It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant. A big mistake.

Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out to be even more perfect for tomatoes. The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing (施肥) have turned the little plant into a tall bush. The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long disappeared under the thick leaves.

Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold; First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回) my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won. I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June. But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light.

Here I am faced with a painful small decision: To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses. Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow.

1.What are the requirements for the healthy growth of rose?

A．Frequent pruning and fertilizing.　　        B．A lot of care and the right soil.

C．Tomato plants grown alongside.　　         D．Cages placed around the roots.

2.The writer planted the tomato because _________.

A．there was room for it in the garden

B．the soil was just right for it

C．it cost only $1.25

D．the roses’ branches needed to be covered

3.This year the writer’s roses were __________.

A．removed from the rose bed

B．largely hidden under the tomato plant

C．mostly damaged by too much sunlight

D．picked along with the tomatoes

4.By saying “the prize so dearly won” in paragraph 5, the writer wants to ________.

A．express her liking for the roses

B．show the hardship of growing the roses

C．show the difficulty in picking the tomatoes

D．express her care for the tomatoes

5.In the situation described in the text, one good thing is that ________.

A．the writer has a daily harvest of tomatoes

B．the roses cost the writer little money

C．someone will help the writer make the decision

D．the writer can now enjoy both the roses and tomatoes

In the past 500 years，nothing about people—their clothes，ideas，or languages has changed as much as what they eat.The original (最初的) chocolate drink was made from the seeds of cocoa tree by South American Indians.The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500’s.And although it was very expensive，it quickly became fashionable (时髦的)．In London shops where chocolate drinks were served became important meeting places.Some still exist today.

The potato is also from the New World.Around 1,600，the Spanish brought it from Peru to Europe，where it soon was widely grown.The potato was the main food at Irish table.Thousands of Irish people starved (饿死) when the crop failed during the “Potato Famine” (马铃薯饥荒) of 1845～1846，and thousands more were forced to move to America.

There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World.But some others went in the opposite (相反的) direction.Brazil is now the world’s largest grower of coffee，and coffee is important crop in Colombia and other South American countries.But it is native to Ethiopia (埃塞俄比亚)．It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400’s.

According to an Arabic story，coffee was discovered when a man named Kaldi noticed that his goats were attracted to the red fruits on a coffee bush.He tried one and experienced the “wide­awake” feeling that one­third of the world’s population now starts the day with.

46．According to the passage，which of the following has changed the most in the last 500 years?

A．Food.　　　　　　　　　　　B．Chocolate drinks.

C．Potato.  D．Coffee.

47．“Some” in the sentence “Some still exist today” refers to______.

A．cocoa trees                                         B．chocolate

C．shops                                                 D．meeting places

48．Thousands of Irish people starved because________.

A．they depended on the potato

B．they were forced to move to America

C．the weather conditions in Ireland were not fit for growing the potato

D．the potato harvest was bad

49．Coffee originally came from________.

A．Brazil                                                 B．Colombia

C．Ethiopia                                              D．Arabia

50．The writer used an Arabic story to prove that________.

A．coffee was first discovered by Kaldi

B．coffee was first discovered by Kaldi’s goats

C．coffee was first discovered in south American countries

D．coffee drinks were first made by Arabs