When many people see birds cleaning their feathers, they attribute it to vanity on the part of the bird. But, in reality, what they are doing is maintaining their wings, the instruments that they depend on for safe flight. If a bird’s wings are not in perfect condition, the bird either won’t be able to fly or won’t be able to control its flight. That is why after a long flight and even throughout the day, you will see them cleaning their feathers.
Most birds, if they get a chance, will take a bath at least once a day. They do this to get rid of the dust that has accumulated in their feathers throughout their flight s during the day. In dry or desert areas, birds will not always be able to find water in which to bath, but they still need to clean their feathers. What many birds will do is to take dust baths. They will roll around in dust until it covers their feathers. They will stand up, shaking the dust out, and then clean their feathers with their beaks (鸟嘴) as usual.
Baths are important for another reason. During the course of the day and night, many parasites (寄生虫) are attracted to birds. Bugs, mites, fleas and so on will try to reach birds and suck from their blood. Daily baths help to keep the parasites to a minimum.
Some birds, especially those that spend a lot of time in or around water, have skin glands (皮肤腺) that produce oil. After bathing, these birds will squeeze the glands to spread the oil over their wings to keep them free of water.
If you are a bird lover and have bird houses in your yard, it can be good to go to the extra step, providing a bird bath. Once the birds in your neighborhood discover it, you will be surprised at how popular it becomes as they periodically stop by to take their daily bath.
【小题1】What’s the passage mainly about?

Beijing ______ some strong winds, with dust blowing at 20 meters per second in the capital these days.

A. sees                                                     B. saw                                    C. is seeing                           D. was seeing

In July 1994 Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was struck by 21 pieces of a comet（彗星）. When the fragment（碎片）landed in the southern part of the giant planet, the explosions were watched by scientists here on earth. But what if our own planet was hit by a comet?

The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our plant, but two fragments will probably hit the southern part of the Earth. The news has caused panic.

On 17 July, a fragment four kilometers wide enters the Earth’s atmosphere with a huge explosion. About half of the fragment is destroyed. But the major part survives and hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and an enormous wave is created and spreads. The wall of water rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned. The wave moves into the Indian Ocean and heads towards Asia.

Millions of people are already dead in the southern part of the Earth, but the north won’t escape for long. Tons of broken pieces are thrown into the atmosphere by the explosions. As the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later civilization has collapsed. No more than 10 million people have survived.

Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The dinosaurs（恐龙）were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a space fragment. The dinosaurs couldn’t survive in the cold climate that followed and they became extinct. Will we meet the same end?

1.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the author’s description of the disaster in 2094?

A. The whole world becomes extremely cold.

B. All the coastal cities in African are destroyed.

C. The whole mankind becomes extinct.

D. The visit of the comet results in wars.

2.Why does the author mention dinosaurs at the end of the passage?

A. Because they could only live in the warm climate.

B. Because they once ruled the Earth.

C. Because their extinction shows future disasters.

D. Because dinosaurs and humans never live in the same age.

3.In writing the passage, the author intends to_________.

A. give an accurate description of the possible disaster in the future

B. prove that humans will sooner or later be destroyed

C. tell the historical development of the Earth

D. warn of a possible disaster in the future

4.It can be concluded that the passage is most probably part of a(n)________.

A. terror story                  B. news report

C. research paper               D. article of popular science

This is a story that can teach us a good lesson. One day, a man in rags begged from door to door along the street. With an old wallet in his hand, he was asking for a few coins to buy something to eat. He kept complaining about his bad fortune and kept __36__ why those who had so much money were never __37__ and were always desiring more.
“As far as I'm concerned, if I had only enough to ___38__ and to wear, I would not want anything more.”
Just at that moment Goddess Fortune, who came down the __39__ saw the beggar and said to him, “Hi, I have wished to __40__ you for a long time. Now, open your __41__ and I will pour my gold into it. But I will do that only on this __42__ : All that falls into the wallet will be pure gold; but every piece falling upon the __43__ shall become dust. Do you understand？”
“I see.” said the beggar.
“Then you should __44__ ！It's obvious that your wallet is a(an) __45__ one, so don't load it too heavily，” said the Goddess Fortune.
The excited beggar could hardly __46__ to have gold. He quickly opened his wallet, and a __47__ of yellow coins was poured into it. The wallet grew heavier and heavier.
“Is that enough? Isn't it cracking？” asked Fortune.
“Never __48__ .It's still strong enough now.”answered the beggar.
The wallet was filled with so many coins that the beggar's hands began to __49__. “Ah, if only the golden stream would __50__ forever! Just a little more，” said the beggar, “__51__ just a handful or two.”
“There! It's full. The wallet will __52__ .” warned the Goddess, but the beggar requested, “It will __53__ a little more, just a little more.”
One more piece was added and the wallet split. The __54__ fell upon the ground and became dust. The greedy beggar had now __55__ but his broken bag.

For nearly a century before there was such a thing as a space program,a view of space was possible.People could see full views of the Moon,explore Mars(探测火星),and study the outer space beauty.All of this was made possible by a small group of artist-astronomers(天文艺术家) who worked to show people how other worlds in space might look.

Lucien Rudaux,a French artist,was the first to use his artistic ability and his knowledge of astronomy in art.His paintings show a mixture of skilled observations,brilliant imagination and careful attention.As a result,many of his works have come surprisingly close to actual conditions on distant planets.His painting of Mars included moonlike craters(火山口) that were first photographed by the astronauts in 1965.His 1930 painting of a dust storm looks remarkably like a photograph of a storm taken by the astronauts in 1976.

The artist-astronomers,including Rudaux,made people interested in outer space by painting what turned out to be exact portraits of the planets.

The passage tells us _________.

A.the surprising exactness of space artists            B.the popular success of Lucien Rudaux

C.the imaginations of great artists                      D.the likeness between the Moon and Mars

According to the passage,artist-astronomers spent their lives _________.

A.exploring the planets                                     B.studying paintings

C.painting the planets                                       D.producing spaceships

The works of Lucien Rudaux are a mixture of _________.

A.astronomy and mathematics                           B.astronomy and painting

C.photograph and art                                        D.fact and imagination

In 1965,the astronauts photographed _________.

A.a spaceship                       B.a planet             C.craters on the Moon           D.a painting