Rabbits are easy to raise. They are clean and quiet. They don’t need a lot of room. And it costs a small amount of money to feed them, but you can get a big return.

       One male and two females will produce as many as fifty more rabbits in a year. That is enough to provide enough meat for a family. Rabbit meat is high in protein and low in fat.

       You don’t have to be a farmer to raise rabbits. You can raise them in the city.

       Rabbit houses are easy to make with wood and wire. They don’t have to be very big. But each rabbit must have its own little room in the house. This is very important. Each room should be about 75 centimeters wide, 60 centimeters high and one meter deep.

       Fencing is used for the sides and floor of the rabbit house. The holes in the wire fencing should be about one centimeter square. Waste from the animals will drop through the holes. This keeps the rabbit house clean and dry.

       Rabbits need a lot of fresh air and sunlight. Cover the sides of the rabbit house only to protect it from rain.

       Rabbits eat mostly grass and leaves. Hang feeding containers on the outside of the house to let the rabbits eat whenever they want. They simply pull the grass and leaves through the holes in the fence.

       Each room should have fresh water. The water containers should be heavy so the rabbit cannot turn them over. Or you can tie the containers to the fence.

       One month after mating(交配), female rabbits give birth to about eight babies. In two months, a baby rabbit should weigh about two kilograms. This is big enough to make a meal for a small family.

       Rabbits are also valuable for their fur. It takes time, skill and money to prepare the fur and skin for use. If you have only a few rabbits, it probably would be best to let a tanner(制革工) prepare the fur for you. Skill is also needed to remove the fur from the rabbit.

       But rabbits do not have to be dead to be valuable. Many people enjoy keeping rabbits as friendly pets. And rabbit waste makes an excellent fertilizer(肥料). It can be mixed directly into the soil to improve the growth of vegetables, trees, and flowering plants.

The text is written mainly_______.

A. to explain why rabbits are clean and quiet   B. to let people know more about rabbits

C. to tell readers how to raise rabbits         D. to introduce a small friendly animal pet

What is important if you raise rabbits?

A. Holes are needed for waste to drop through.

B. Each rabbit must be given a separate room.

C. Each room must have clean water every day.

D. Feeding containers are hung on the fence.

Why should the holes in the wire fence be about one centimeter square?

A. Because the holes let in sunlight.    

B. Because rabbits like these holes.

C. Because rabbits get food from them.

D. Because waste of rabbits drops through the holes.

What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A. You don’t have to kill rabbits to make more money.

B. Rabbits cannot be sold to make money when they are alive.

C. Rabbits are more valuable when they are alive.

D. Rabbits have to be killed to be more valuable.

Planting trees around poultry farms can improve air and water quality -- and relations with neighbors. Research has shown that just three rows of trees near poultry houses can reduce the release of dust and ammonia(氨). They can also reduce the strong smell of ammonia gas.

The trees take dust, ammonia and odors in their leaves. They also provide shade from the sun, so they reduce cooling costs in summer. And they act as a windbreak, so they reduce heating costs in winter. Trees can also improve water quality around farms by removing pollutions from soil and groundwater.

Several years ago, people were objecting to the odor of poultry farms on the Delmarva Peninsula in the eastern United State s. Delmarva is where the states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia come together. Two thousand farms there can each house an average of seventy-five thousand chickens.

Traditionally the farms used windows to provide fresh air in the chicken houses. Farmers rarely planted trees or tall crops around the buildings, so there would be no barrier to the airflow. But then farms began to use new ventilation systems. Instead of windows, the new systems used tunnel fans to circulate air. The fans directed airflow from the poultry houses toward the homes of neighbors.

Researchers began dealing with the problem in two thousand. They found that over a period of six years, planting three rows of trees reduced total dust and ammonia by more than half. And they found that smells were reduced by eighteen percent.

Farmers may think trees will take too long to grow and be effective. But some trees can grow quickly. At least one-third of the Delmarva farms have planted trees, technically known as vegetative environmental buffers. The idea offers a way to cut pollution, save money and energy, and make the neighbors happy.

1.The second paragraph mainly tells us ______.

2.The word “odor” in paragraph 3 means ______.

3.The farms on the Delmarva Peninsula used to use ______ in chicken houses to provide fresh air.

4.It can be learned from the last two paragraphs that ______.

If you want to keep healthy, you should have good habits. What is a habit? It is something we do very often. We don’t even think when we do it. It has become a part of our lives.

“Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” This is an old English saying. Do you know what it means? It means that we must go to bed early at night and get up early in the morning. If we do, we shall be healthy, rich and clever.

Is this true? Perhaps it is. We know the body must have enough sleep. Boys and girls need eight or nine hours’ sleep every day.

Some people go to bed late at night and get up late in the morning. This is a very bad habit. Then you will not think or do your work well. Of course, you can’t be healthy, wealthy or wise.

When we get up early in the morning, we can go out and do morning exercises. Exercise means doing things with the body. Walking, running jumping, swimming, and playing ball games are all exercise. If we don’t exercise, our body will become weak.

Exercise helps the blood (血液) to move around inside our body. Blood takes food to all parts of our body.

Our body also needs air to breathe. Without air, we will die. We must have lots of clean fresh air if we want to be healthy. That is why many people like to go out to do morning exercise.

1.From the passage we know that it is good for our health to ____ .

2.How long should young boys and girls need to sleep a day?

3.If we want to keep healthy, we must ____ .

4.Which of the following habits is NOT GOOD?

A morning rarely began so perfect. I took in the fresh air and felt my heart run into an enthusiastic rhythm. Though cool, the sun warmed my back as it rose over the horse from not far from my house. The slightest wind danced on my skin. Just enough to keep a runner form overheating. My ever-faithful jogging partner, a black dog named Nika pulled my leg with her mouth, mirroring my eagerness to start our run.

We raced forward with determination, ready to leap tall buildings and race against speeding trains. We pushed harder and ran faster, demonstration our skill and impressing passing motorists and neighbors.

We kept on running until we hit the Beast, a name for a very difficult, nearly two-mile long steep climb.

Only a few paces into the Beast, I gasped for air. Far short of superhero status, my enthusiasm and active steps were lost somewhere at the base of the hill. A vision of the newspaper and a cup of coffee waiting in my kitchen appeared, attracting me to turn back toward home.

With a glance I noticed Nika wasn’t doing any better. She continued to faithfully follow me, putting one paw in front of the other, but without her former eagerness. Her tiredness touched me. And in that moment, I felt a sudden spark of renewed determination to press on. I couldn’t allow this mountain to get the better of us. To improve both our spirits, I managed to shout, “Good girl, Nika! Keep going…you can do it!”

“I’m encouraging a dog, for heaven’s sake!’’ I needed to pull myself together. With a few simple words, I changed our course. One moment we were on the edge of quitting. The next, our feet picked up the pace and we continued. Though tired and discouraged myself, with a few kind words I impacted a dog’s ability to go further. I’m sure I could have completed the opposite with ill-chosen comments and an unpleasant tone. Instead, the Beast was defeated and we flew like heroes the rest of the way home.

Life is full of beasts to conquer. For some, it is the seemingly impossible climb of cancer. For others, their beast takes the shape of parenting a child or a teenager. Uphill climbs come in all shapes and sizes, common only in their ability to defeat, discourage and tempt tired travelers to quit. Sometimes all that’s needed is a few spoken, well-timed words of encouragement from a fellow runner – someone who sees the struggle, dares to jogs alongside, and cares enough to say, “Keep going! You can do it! You’re not alone. I believe in you!”

The writer starts the text by describing________.

A. the beautiful scene of the morning  

B. his or her preparations for a jogging

C. a lively dog named Nika

D. the growth of crops at the farm

The writer mentioned the newspaper and coffee to suggest that he or she _______.

A. liked reading newspapers while drinking coffee

B. had an intention to give up running

C. would treat himself or herself to coffee after running

D. might appear on the newspaper for the long running

The writer decided to continue running _______.

A. after he or she found the dog was still energetic

B. because they came near the top of the hill

C. when he or she noticed the tired dog

D. before they arrived at the bottom of the hill

What does the writer expect to show by telling the story?

A. Words are powerful than deeds.

B. Beasts in life aren’t easily to conquer.

C. Dogs are the best friend of humans.

D. Try it one more time before giving up.

I tend to accept any idea put forward by experts on TV. One day, a sociologist(社会学家) proposed that the   36  society has been consuming modern humans little by little. For fear that I would become a victim of the consumer society, I   37  hurried to a bicycle shop in my neighborhood.   38  the shopkeeper Mr. Johnson was selling me the bicycle, he said, “This is the best thing you   39  have done. Life has become hopelessly   40 . A bicycle is simple, and it brings to you   41  things: fresh air, sunshine and exercise.” I agreed. Happy as a child, I got on the bicycle and headed out onto the streets. After some time, I   42  at the other end of the town. I was   43  that this simple vehicle could let me   44  long distances in a fairly short time. But how   45  did I really go?

Since I hated to be   46 , I went back to Mr. Johnson and asked him to   47  an odometer (里程表) on my bicycle. He agreed, but   48 , “An odometer without a speedometer (速度计) is like a   49  without a knife.” I admitted he was right and in a few minutes, the two devices (装置) were   50  to the handlebars of my bicycle. “What about a horn?” he then asked. “Look, this horn is no larger than a matchbox and has many   51 .” Attracted by these functions, I bought the horn.

“You can’t leave the back part   52 ,” noted Mr. Johnson. He fixed a metal box with buttons   53  the seat, and said, “Is there anything better than this oven(烤箱) when you feel   54  on your way? I can give you a special discount.” I was not strong enough to   55  the offer.

“I congratulate you once more; this is the best thing you could have done,” said Mr. Johnson in the end.

18.