There was great interest when a big hole mysteriously appeared in the middle of a field. Engineers were called in to explain how it had got there. They offered various explanations but were not at all sure how the hole had been caused, it was thought that a large bomb which came suddenly exploded, but it was not possible to prove this. A simple, but highly improbable explanation was offered by a man who declares to know well about “flying saucers”; the strange objects which are round in shape and are said to visit the earth from outer space. The man’s explanation may have been nonsense (胡说八道), but at least it was imaginative. At any rate, it was far more interesting than the one given by the army.

   After examining the ground carefully the man declared to have seen special marks on the soil quite near the hole, these, he said, could only have been caused by a flying saucer. Moreover the leaves on some bushes nearby had turned yellow because of a strange hot gas which had come from the saucer just before it landed. Even a small tree some way off appeared to have been burnt slightly. A small piece of metal found in the hole itself gave further proof that a strange object had been there. According to the man, it was quite clear that people from another world had been going around the earth trying to pick up information, when something had gone wrong. Because of this they had been forced to land in a field so that the damage could be repaired. The hole had been caused when the saucer struck the earth, while the strange marks nearby were made when it took off again. This, said the man, was the simplest explanation of how the hole had appeared. Judging from the interest the public took in the matter, there must be quite a few people who secretly believe or hope that this simple explanation is the true one.

1.What aroused public interest?

 A. A mysterious hole in a field.              B. Various explanations offered by experts.

 C. A simple explanation given by a man.      D. The shape of the flying saucers.

2.The author thought the man’s explanation was________. 

 A. boring but imaginative                  B. reasonable and interesting

 C. meaningless but interesting              D. mysterious and unbelievable

3.The man found a lot of proofs except ____. 

 A. special marks on soil near the hole     B. yellow leaves on some bushes nearby

 C. a small piece of meal in the hole       D. the remains of the flying saucer

4.It’s said the outer-space people were circling the earth _______.

 A. to repair their saucer                 B. to strike the earth

 C. to. collect information              D. to make strange marks

The following are the world-renewed attractions（迷人地方） in London, so don’t miss them while touring there.

Shakespeare’s Globe

Shakespeare’s Globe, which officially opened in 1997, is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, built in 1599, and brings Shakespeare’s world to life. As a visitor to the exhibition you’ll discover how shows were produced in the theatres during Shakespeare’s time. The guide-storytellers take you on a fascinating half-hour tour.

Price: Adult ￡9.00；Child(5-15) ￡6.50;  Student ￡7.50;  Under 5 FREE.

The Tower of London

The tower, nearly 100 feet high, with walls 15 feet thick, was built in the early 1080s. King Henry Ⅲ made this tower his home. King Edward V and his

younger brother were murdered inside by their uncle. Queen Elizabeth I was shut up in the tower for two months by her half sister Mary who felt that her throne(王位)was being threatened(威胁). In 1603, part of the tower became a museum.

Price: Adult ￡16.50; Child (5-15) ￡9.50; Under 5 FREE; Student ￡13.50; Family (two adults with three children) ￡46.00.

Banqueting(宴会) House

Banqueting House is the remains of Whitehall Palace which was built in 1529 and was home to the English kings. It was destroyed by fire. Famous for its architecture and painting, the building is also known for being the scene(地点) of Charles I’s execution(处决)。

Price: Adult ￡4.50; Child ￡2.25; Student (with ID) and senior citizen (60+) ￡3.00; Under 5 FREE.

Tower Bridge Exhibition

Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognizable bridges in the world. At the Tower Bridge Exhibition you can enjoy breath-taking views from the high-level walkways and learn about the history of the bridge and how it was built. You can then visit the Victorian engine rooms, home to the original steam engines that used to power the bridge.

Price: Adult￡6.00; Child (5-15) ￡3.00; Under 5 FREE; Senior citizen(60+) ￡4.50; Student￡4.50.

1. Which of the following places has the longest history?

A. Whitehall  Palace.                        B. The Globe Theatre.  

C. The Tower of London.                    D. Tower   Bridge.

2. If two parents with their 4-year-old son visit the Tower of London, they should pay      .

A. ￡33            B. ￡43       C. ￡46        D. ￡52

3. Queen Elizabeth I was shut up in the tower for two months by Mary mainly because        .

A. Mary didn’t like her                  ]

B. she tried to steal Mary’s treasure

C. Mary feared she would become the Queen 

D. she intended to murder Mary

4. How many places used as a king’s home are mentioned in this passage?

A. One.                 B. Two.           C. Three.        D. Four.

Why are people interested in eating raw foods or whole foods? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid accumulation in your body.

Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked and refined foods. When we cook foods, we destroy the natural enzymes (酶) that are part of the food in its raw form. These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food. When we consume food without these natural enzymes, our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow too many nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream. In both instances, the result is obesity. When too many nutrients are absorbed at once, the body grows fat. Improperly digested food moves slowly through the digestive tract, where it becomes increasingly acidic. To protect its vital organs from this acidic waste, the body changes the acid into fat and stores it safely away from the organs.

Processed foods contain chemical elements, which might confuse the appetite mechanism that tells us when we’ve had enough to eat; as a result, people often overeat. Processed foods also upset the digestive cycle. The body will either identify these foods as allergens and then store them safely away from the organs as fat, or the remains of undigested food will become acidic and enter the bloodstream as acid waste, which will stick to the blood vessel walls and block the passage of vital oxygen and nutrients heading for the body’s cells. The body’s metabolism (新陈代谢) becomes inactive, and the result is weight gain and obesity.

The accumulation of acid in the digestive tract makes digestion increasingly inefficient. When that happens, even healthy foods can become acidic and the food allergies will become more common.

To stop this vicious（恶性的） circle in its tracks, people need to consume food and supplements that will neutralize the acid already accumulated in body. Eating the right types of raw and whole foods can help. It’s also important to restore your enzyme balance. You need to identify and avoid the foods that cause acid accumulation and consume the foods that increase enzyme production. If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself, you need to take an active approach.

1.It can be inferred from Para. 2 that __________.

2.Processed foods are unhealthy because they __________.

3.What is the main purpose of this passage?

4.What is likely to be talked about following the last paragraph?

5.What can we learn from the text?

     Zhoukoudian is a small village situated about 50 kilometers to the southwest of Beijing. In the 1920s, archaeologists discovered some prehistoric human bones there which changed people’s view of China’s history. They came from an unknown species of man and were the first evidence of human life in China thousands of years ago. The remains were three teeth!

    In 1929, a complete skull was also discovered. Eventually, archaeologist found almost 200 items, including six skulls and more than 150 teeth. These discoveries proved the existence of a human species who lived in the area between 700,000 and 200,000 years ago. Four sites where Beijing Man and his relatives lived were discovered on the northern face of Longgushan. They lived in the caves in the area.

     However, the life span of Beijing Man was short. About 70% of the peole probably died before the age of 14. Fewer than 5% lived to the age of 50. Ashes were found alongside the fossils which showed they had used fire for cooking food and also for light, warmth, and protection against wild animals. This is the earliest evidence of the use of fire anywhere in the world. They also made tools of bones and stones. Unfortunately, when Japan invaded（侵略） China in 1937, excavations（挖掘） at the Beijing Man Site stopped and most of the fossils disappeared, including a Beijing Man skull. After the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the work started again.

    Zhoukoudian was listed as a World Heritage Site in December 1987. It has not only given us important information about prehistoric Asian societies, but also provided amazing evidence about the process of evolution. Today, parts of the caves have been badly affected by rain. Some areas are almost completely covered in weeds, causing serious damage. Pollution from the nearby factories has also contributed to the problem. This is a very serious matter and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is trying to raise public awareness of it.

46. Archaeologists _________________.

  A. thought that Zhoukoudian was a beartiful village

  B. thought that the findings in Zhoukoudian wouldn’t change the history of China

  C. discovered some prehistoric human bounes in Zhoukoudian

  D. thought that the findings in Zhoukoudian are the first evidence of human life in Asia

47. Beijing Man used fire to do all of the following things EXCEPT _______________.

  A. light in the dark                B. keep warm

  C. make tools                    D. scare wild animals away

48. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

  A. The digging was delayed by the Japanese invasion in the 1930s.

  B. These ancient Chinese were the first people to use fire in daily life.

  C. Some valuable things excavated from the site are still missing.

  D. The digging of Zhoukoudian is famous and is well-funded（得到很好的资助）.

49. What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

  A. The digging of Zhoukoudian is still under way.

  B. Zhoukoudian plays an important part in the study of prehistoric societies.

  C. Zhoukoudian is a World Heritage Site.

  D. Zhoukoudian is in great need of protection.

50. From the passage, we can infer that ______________.

  A,. the work of excavating the Beijing Man Site has not proceeded（进行） smoothly

  B. Beijing Man had a short life

  C. Beijing Man lived in the caves of Longgushan

  D. arvhaeologists found six complete skulls and more than 150 teeth in 1929.

Living in South Africa, I had always taken the wildlife pretty much for granted. Not to say that we were surrounded by it, but the accessibility of game parks and wildlife sanctuaries（避难所，庇护所） always made it seem like a natural part of the environment. For this reason, I suppose that the way my European friends used to talk to me, wasn’t so strange after all. They would ask me what I thought at the time were really silly questions which got on my nerves. They’d say things like ‘Do you have a pet baboon?’ or ‘Do you travel to school by elephant?’.

When Amanda, a friend of mine who was visiting from England, invited me to join her and a group of friends on a wildlife expedition, I was not filled with enthusiasm. However, from the moment we entered the gates of the Zaluzi game reserve, I knew that this was not going to be anything like I had expected. We had been traveling along the National Road when, suddenly, we turned onto a dirt track which seemed to be hidden in the middle of nowhere. Amazingly, the scenery changed dramatically. The civilized environment took on a wild, chaotic（混沌的；一片混乱的） aspect and continued to do so as we walked deeper into the bush.

After having a good night’s sleep at one of the reserve’s bungalows, we were woken at the crack of dawn. After a quick breakfast we piled into a jeep and set off. Our guide assured us that the early start was necessary in order to have the best chance of seeing what was really worthwhile. Armed with just a thermos of coffee, we set out towards the shore of a small lake where it was expected that we could see that animals that used it as their morning watering hole.

On the way to our destination, we topped a hill and there, against the emerging morning light, were a group of animals.  It was a stunning sight. As we moved closer, the animals did not appear to be alarmed by our presence. Pet baboons aside, I had never before come within such close range of a pride of lions. It did cross my mind, however, that we might be in a certain amount of danger. When I asked Timothy, our game ranger, if we were actually in any danger, he replied straightforwardly that one is never entirely safe in the bush, but his knowledge and experience allowed him to anticipate any danger with reasonable accuracy.

However, the following day there was some cause for alarm. Not having started out so early, we missed the sightings of the day before. We decided to drive around for a while, hoping to come across something of interest. Suddenly our tracker perched up on the back of our vehicle, signaled to the driver to halt and at the same moment I realized that this time we had stumbled right into a pride of lions. The driver promptly turned off the engine and in a low voice warned us to remain seated and not to make any abrupt movements. The lions were picking at what looked like the remains of a zebra. Timothy, later told us how much to our advantage this was. Had their bellies not been full, their reaction to us would surely have been otherwise. As the nearest lion was less than three meters away from the jeep, I considered that we had been very lucky indeed.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Our near miss with the lions was without a doubt the highlight, but what it taught me yet again was how easy it is to be indifferent to our surroundings and not to have a full appreciation of the beauty around us.

1.How did the writer feel about the questions her European friends asked?

A. ridiculous      B. annoyed       C. strange     D. embarrassed

2.When did the writer’s attitude change about the expedition?

A. When she was traveling along the dirt track.

B. When she received her invitation.

C. When she arrived at the game reserve.

D. When her friend arrived from England.

3.What does the underlined word ‘It’ (in the fourth paragraph) refer to?

A. the pride of lions     B. the destination

C. the top of the hill     D. the morning light

4.Timothy’s experience as a game ranger was valuable because he ______________

A. could supply a straightforward answer to any question.

B. knew how to frighten the animals.

C. knew the game reserve well.

D. could identify trouble in advance.

5.What does the writer mean by the underlined sentence ‘we had been very lucky indeed’ in the fifth paragraph?

A. They had seen the lions up close.    B. They hadn’t been attacked.

C. They had a good guide with them.   D. They had gone on a trip.

6.What conclusion does the writer of the text come to?

A. We often do not realize how attractive our environment really is.

B. It is not clever to unnecessarily put ourselves in dangerous situations.

C. We don’t respect wild animals enough.

D. We should protect our surroundings.