Part Three: Reading Comprehension

I.  Fill in the blanks, using the proper forms of the words below.

( respect, watch, wander off, nest, worthwhile, discover, forest, where, argue, observe, work out, sleep, behave, entertainment, understand )

A PROTECTION OF AFRICAN WILDLIFE

It is 5:45 am and the sun is just rising over Gombe National Park in East Africa. Our group are all going to visit the chimps in the     1   . Jane has studied these animals for many years and helped people   2    how much they    3   like humans.     4    a family of chimps wake up is our first activity of the day. This means going back to a place   5  we left the chimp family    6   in a tree the night before. Everybody sits and waits while the animals in the group begin to wake up and move. Then we follow as the family begins to    7   into the forest. Most of the time, chimps either feed or clean each other as a way of showing love in their family. Jane warns us that everybody will be very tired and dirty by the afternoon and she is right. But the evening makes it all    8   . The mother chimp and her babies play in the tree and, after they come into her arms, we see them go to sleep together in their    9  for the night.

Nobody before has fully understand chimp behaviour. Jane spent many years   10   and recording their daily activities. She did not study at a university but she was determined to work with animals in their own environment. When she arrived at Gombe in 1960, it was unusual for a woman to live in the forest. Only after her mother came to help her for the first few months was she allowed to begin her project. Her work changed the way people think about chimps. For example, one thing she    11   was that chimps hunt and eat meat. Until then everyone had thought chimps ate only fruit and nuts. She actually observed chimps as a group hunting a monkey and then eating it. She also discovered how chimps communicate with each other and her study of their body language helped her   12   their social system

For forty years Jane Goodall has been helping the rest of the world understand and   13 the life of these animals. She has   14   for them to be left in the wild and not used for         15    or advertisements. She has set up special places where they can live safely. Her life is very busy but as she says:

“Once I stop, it all comes crowding in and I remember the chimps in laboratories. It’s terrible. It affects me when I watch the wild chimps. I say to myself, ‘Aren’t they lucky?’ And then think about small chimps in cages though they have done nothing wrong. Once you have seen that you can never forget…”

She has achieved everything she wanted to do: working with animals in their own environment, gaining a doctor’s degree for studies, showing that women can live in the forest as men can. She inspires those who want to cheer the achievements of women.  

请认真阅读下列短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。

Literature is a term used to describe written as well as spoken material．Generally speaking, it is often used to describe anything from creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama and fiction．

Then why read literature, since it is often imaginary and seems unconnected with real life?

A lot of us read literature for pleasure and relaxation．It’s always pleasant to read some interesting books, such as comedies and novels, in our spare time．In a modern life full of pressure, it is our common desire to read some imaginary works and seek relaxation from the stress in life．

Reading literature is more than fun; it also enables us to acquire knowledge．As a general rule, literature represents a language or a people, and it often gives us an insight（洞察力）into the traditions, customs, beliefs, attitudes and values of the age in which it was written．

Sometimes literature can even offer us new, creative ways to have a better understanding of the world．It helps us make sense of the world around us．It introduces us to new worlds of experiences．We enjoy the comedy and the tragedy of poems, stories and plays; and we may even grow through our literary journey with books．Eventually, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it．In a sense, we explore the human condition and analyze how and why people think the way they think and feel the way they feel．Literature enables us to think analytically and promotes open minds．We see the world through the eyes of different cultures and in turn learn the ways to deal with things that happen around．

So we can definitely say literature is of great importance to us．Why not get going with one poem, drama or fiction at once?

C

Perhaps you have a big test coming up and you are feeling nervous. You know you have got to do well. The pressure is on, so you may be losing sleep and the ability to concentrate. How can you deal with the stress, study effectively, and take the test with confidence? Maybe you should try meditation（沉思）.

When people think about meditation, many pictures of old men’s sitting cross-legged on remote mountaintops will appear in mind. People describing meditation frequently mention elements such as relaxation and “thinking about nothing”.

It is not necessary to travel to a mountaintop to enjoy the benefits of meditation because it is actually more about awareness than just relaxation. The secret of meditation is breathing.

To star meditating, find a place where you can sit or stand comfortably for a little while and concentrate. Close your eyes and start taking slow breaths. Focus on the air moving in and out of your body. If your mind starts to wander and you begin to think about something else, refocus your attention on your breathing.

Meditation has little to do with escaping problems or thinking about nothing. Instead, the breathing techniques help you calm down and think more clearly about your feelings. The issues on your mind unfold clearly, as if they were in slow motion.

This clarity（清晰）is called “mindfulness”. Being mindful means that you are aware of what you are thinking without becoming caught up in your thoughts. It takes practice, but with time, that big test will not scare you anymore. You will realize through meditation that fear is just a product of not being mindful.

64． What is the best way to reduce the pressure if one faces a big test?

A. To climb up to the top of a mountain for a rest.

B. To sit on the top of a mountain without thinking anything.

C. To sit or stand comfortable and begin to meditate.

D. To sit quietly with one’s legs crossed.

65． What should a person do if his mind begins to wander while meditating?

A. Stop meditating.

B. Concentrate on breathing again.

C. Involve himself in his thoughts.

D. Close eyes immediately.

66． From the passage we can learn that by practicing meditation we’ll__________.

A. not be stuck in our thoughts

B. pass the examinations easily

C. realize fear is a product of too much thought

D. never be afraid of big tests

67． From the passage we can know the writer’s purpose is to let the readers know__________

A. how to deal with the stress before a big test

B. what is meditation

C. how a big test scares the students

D. where is the best place to relax

2.  Why did Jane go to Africa to study chimps in the wild? Because she wanted          .

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend. But some women show great interest in colorful beads（珠子）from Uganda made of recycled paper. The beads are sold by a nonprofit organization called BeadforLife.

BeadforLife began as a chance meeting between three American women on a trip to Uganda and a local jewelry maker. Millie Grace Akena was rolling paper beads near her home. She made paper beads as a hobby. But there was no real market in her country.

Torkin Wakefield says she and her daughters Devin and Ginny brought some of the beads back home. Immediately people started admiring the beads. The three Americans started BeadforLife in 2004. Nearly 700 women have taken part.

The group says its beaders earn an average of more than 2,000 dollars a year in the program. This is five times what they earned before. The beads are sold across Uganda and in Boulder, Colorado. They are also sold online and at jewelry shows called bead parties. “Because they have meaning, because these are gifts that help people, when folks in America and beyond buy our beads, they feel a sense of generosity. They feel a direct connection, like they can really take part in getting rid of poverty.” Torkin said.

The jewelry costs between five and thirty dollars. BeadforLife reported sales in its last budget year of more that 3.5 million dollars. It says for every ten-dollar necklace sold, the beader gets two dollars and forty-three cents in money or materials. It says more than 90% of earnings are reinvested in community development projects in Uganda. Torkin Wakefield estimates that BeadforLife has helped more than 8,000 people this way.

So what about Millie Grace Akena, the jewelry maker? Mrs Wakefield says she has gone on to organize a small group of women who work with her, and they sell their beads to a religious group.

1.According to the passage, BeadforLife is an organization that ______.

A. provides poor people worldwide with free education

B. mainly encourages people to learn to earn a living on their own

C. has attracted many businessmen to invest in beading

D. supports community development projects in Uganda

2.When Torkin Wakefield brought the beads to America, ______.

A. she didn’t know people would like them

B. she wanted to make a fortune out of them

C. people showed great interest in them at once

D. she was thinking of how to find investors

3.According to Paragraph 4, the beads are popular because ______.

A. people think buying them is a good way to help the poor

B. they are of good quality and can be kept for a long time

C. they symbolize the most important thing in people’s life

D. they look even more beautiful than diamonds

4.Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?

A. Mrs Wakefield makes a great contribution to developing countries.

B. BeadforLife makes beads out of recycled paper.

C. BeadforLife uses paper beads to improve people’s lives.

D. Mrs Wakefield’s career takes off thanks to paper beads.