Construction workers in Southern California have made a wild discovery. They were digging at a building site in San Timoteo Canyon (峡谷) when they unearthed hundreds of ancient animal fossils. Researchers say the bones hold important clues about the history of the region.
Nearly 1, 500 fossils were recovered from the dusty canyon. The remains are about 1.4 million years old. They include the bones of a new species of deer, several small rodents (啮齿目动物) and more. A giant cat fossil was also found. Scientists believe the animal was an ancestor of the saber- toothed tiger. Signs of plant life were uncovered as well.
“This is a huge find,” says Rick Greenwood, a scientist studying the site. “I don’t think most people had any idea that those types of animals were wandering around here more than a million years ago.”
San Timoteo Canyon is located about 85 miles from Los Angeles. The area of the canyon where the fossils were found was once part of a green river valley. Today, the region is dry and plant life is rare.
Most of the fossils are well preserved. Experts say a muddy lake bed may have trapped thirty animals that wandered over for a drink. The mud helped to protect the animal fossils.
The remains are a million years older than those discovered at the famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Scientists studying the bones will be able to learn more about how the animals adapted to changes in the environment.
“We have a confused view of what this time period was like, ” says another scientist. “A discovery like this could really be an important contribution.”
About 35 different animal species are represented in the fossil collection. Scientists began removing bones from the site last fall. The project was completed this summer. Starting next year, the fossils will be on display at the Western Science Center in the nearby city of Hemet, California.
【小题1】
What does the passage mainly focus on?

Home to me means a sense of familiarity and nostalgia(怀旧). It's fun to come home. It looks the same. It smells the same. You'll realize what's changed is you. Home is where we ran remember pain, live, and some other experiences; We parted here; My parents met here; I won three championships here.

If I close my eyes, I can still have a clear picture in mind of my first home. I walk in the door and see a brown sofa surrounding a low glass-top wooden table. To the right of the living room is my first bedroom. It's empty, but it's where my earliest memories are.

There is the dining room table where I celebrated birthdays, and where I cried on Halloween-when I didn't want to wear the skirt my mother made for me. I always liked standing on that table because it made me feel tall and strong. If I sit at this table, I can see my favorite room in the house, my parents' room. It is simple: a brown wooden dresser lines the right side of the wall next to a television and a couple of photos of my grandparents on each side. Their bed is my safe zone. I can jump on it anytime - waking up my parents if I am scared or if I have an important announcement that cannot wait until the morning.

I'm lucky because I know my first home still exists. It exists in my mind and heart, on a physical property(住宅) on West 64th street on the western edge of Los Angeles. It is proof I lived, I grew and I learned.

Sometimes when I feel lost, I lie down and shut my eyes, and I go home. I know it's where I'll find my family, my dogs, and my belongings. I purposely leave the window open at night because I know I'll be blamed by Mom. But I don't mind, because I want to hear her say my name, which reminds me I'm home.

1.Why does the author call her parents' bed her "safe zone"(Paragraph 3)?

A．It is her favorite place to play.

B．Her needs can be satisfied there.

C．Her grandparents' photos are lined on each side.

D．Her parents always play together with her there.

2.What can be learned from the passage?

A．The old furniture is still in the author's fist bedroom.

B．The author can still visit her first physical home in Los Angeles.

C．The author's favorite room in her first home is the dining room.

D．Many people of the author's age can still find their first physical homes.

3.Sometimes when she feels lost, the author will _______.

A．Open the window at night

B．lie down in bed to have a dream

C．try to bring back a sense of home

D．go to Los Angeles to visit her mom

4.What is the author's purpose of writing this passage?

A．To express how much she is attached to her home.

B．To declare how much she loves her first house.

C．To describe the state of her family.

D．To look back on her childhood.

I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”

Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑) in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks(地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”

In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”

People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.

It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

1.When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually ______.

   A. describe the place carefully           B. show him a map of the place

   C. tell him the names of the streets D.refer to recognizable buildings and places

2.What is the place where people measure distance in time?

   A. New York..              B. Los Angeles.                  C. Kansas.                  D. Iowa.

3. People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ______.

   A. in order to save time                           B. because of honesty

   C. so as to be polite                                   D. for fun

4.What can we infer from the text?

   A. It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences.

   B. It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.

   C. People have similar understandings of politeness.

   D. New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.

I travel a lot, and I find out different "styles" (风格) of directions every time 1 ask "How can I get to the post office?"

Foreign tourists are often confused (困惑) in Japan because most streets there don't have names in Japan. People use landmarks (地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, "Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop."

In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, "Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile."

People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. "How far away is the post office?" you ask. "Oh," they answer, "it's about five minutes from here." You say, "Yes, but how many miles away is it?" They don't know.

It's true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, 'Sorry, I have no idea." But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don't know." People in Yucatan believe that "I don't know" is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!

1.When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place they usually _________

A．describe the place carefully

B．show him a map of the place

C．tell him the names of the streets

D．refer to recognizable buildings and places

2.What is the place where people measure distance in time?

A．New York.         B．Los Angeles.       C．Kansas.           D．Iowa.

3.People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________

A．in order to save time                     B．as a test

C．so as to be polite                        D．for fun

4.Which sentence is true according to the text?

A．There is no street names in Japan.

B．There is no landmarks in the countryside of American.

C．People in Yucatan always give wrong answers when asked the way.

D．People in Los Angeles measure distance in time, not miles when asked the way.

5.What can we infer from the text?

A．It's important for travelers to understand cultural differences.

B．It's useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly.

C．People have similar (相似的) understandings of politeness.

D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors.

A programmer and an engineer are sitting next to each other on a long flight from Los Angeles to New York．The programmer leans over to the engineer and asks if he would like to play a fun game．The engineer just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks．

The programmer persists and explains that the game is really easy and has a lot of fun．He explains, "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5．Then you ask me a question, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $5．" Again, the engineer politely refuses and tries to get to sleep．

The programmer, now somewhat anxious, says, "OK, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $50!" This catches the engineer's attention, and he sees no end to this torment（折磨） unless he plays, so he agrees to the game．

The programmer asks the first question．"What's the distance from the earth to the moon?'' The engineer doesn't say a word, but reaches into his wallet, pulls out a five dollar bill and hands it to the programmer．Now, it's the engineer's turn．He asks the programmer, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down on four?" The programmer looks up at him with a puzzled look．He takes out his laptop computer and searches all of his references．After about an hour, he wakes the engineer and hands him $50．The engineer politely takes the $50 and turns away to try to get back to sleep．The programmer, more than a little angry, shakes the engineer and asks, "Well, so what's the answer?" Without a word, the engineer reaches into his wallet, hands the programmer $5, and turns away and goes back to sleep．

1.What's the best title for the passage?

A．A Boring Conversation                  B．A Fun Game

C．A Trick During The Flight            D．A Question Without Answer

2.What kind of person is the programmer according to what he said?

A．Confident．             B．Selfish．                  C．Greedy．               D．Generous．

3.What can we infer according to the last sentence?

A．The engineer has little money with him．

B．Actually the engineer doesn't know the answer, either．

C．The engineer is bored with programmer．

D．The engineer beats the programmer at last．

4.Which is NOT true according to the passage?

A．In the beginning the engineer is not interested in the game．

B．The engineer is too sleepy to want to play the game．

C．At last the engineer gains $45 from the programmer．

D．Nobody knows the answer to the engineer's question．