Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.

      In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.

      Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.

      During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.

1．What is the text mainly about?

    A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.

    B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.

    C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.

    D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins.

2．Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that        ．

    A．they look like young cuckoos

    B．they have claws on the wings

    C．they eat a lot like a cow

    D．they live on river banks

3．What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?

    A．They had claws to help them climb.

    B．They could fly long distances.

    C．They had four wings like hoatzins.

    D．They had a head with long feathers on the top.

4．Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?

    A．To find more food.

    B．To protect themselves better.

    C．To keep themselves warm.

    D．To produce their young.

When a dirty and untidy orange cat showed up in the prison yard，I was one of the first to go out there and pet it．I hadn’t touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years．I spent at least 20 minutes，knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around，relaxed．What he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly．It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care．

 Over the next few days，there were other prisoners responding to the cat．Every yard period，a group of prisoners gathered there．They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat．These were guys you wouldn’t usually find talking to each other．Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．Bowls of milk and water appeared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it．

 The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape．People said that the cat came to the right place．He's getting treated like a king．This was true．but as I watched I was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us．There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America．We need more programs．We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds．Some may even talk about making prisons more kind．But I think what we really need is a chance to practise our own kindness．Not receive it，but give it．After more than two decades here，I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged．It's often seen as a weakness．

Instead，the culture encourages keeping your head down，minding your own business，and never letting yourself be weak．

The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here．By simply saying，”I need some help here”，he did something important for us．He needed us．And we needed to be needed．I believe we all do．

1.From the passage，we can learn that the author was            ．

A．an animal protector   B．the cat owner   C．a prison officer        D．a prisoner

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A．The cat was dirty because it was kept in prison．

B．The officer in the prison enjoyed petting the cat．

C．The prisoners prepared food for both the cat and birds．

D．The author realized the importance of practising kindness．

3.We can infer from the third paragraph that               ．

A．showing love to others can make prisoners strong

B．the American prison culture will be improved

C．the author is not content with the prison culture

D．caring for others is encouraged in American prisons

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A．Caring Makes Us Human．          B．Prison Culture is Important．

C．Animals Need Care．              D．Everyone Needs to be Cared for．

5.In Paragraph 2，the author mentioned that “Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．”to               ．

A．show us the officer and prisoners get along well with each other

B．show us the American prison culture does need improvement

C．show us the officer and prisoners all like cat

D．show us the American prison culture is great

    The total continent of Antarctica, from its mountains to the seas full of blue whales, emperor penguins and leopard seals, is, by means of international agreement, classified as a nature preserve. The Antarctic Treaty took effect in 1998, and doesn’t allow mining and oil drilling for at least fifty years anywhere within the boundaries of Antarctica. The treaty places a strong emphasis on the protection of the natural environment but not development. All wildlife threats including dogs and chemicals used for killing pests are also banned.

    The agreement has been set by some countries to keep Antarctica free of commercialism and industrial development. This agreement was signed in 1991 by the 26 leading nations with scientific interest in the land. Some of the nations in the agreement are the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, and most of the primary European nations.

    The rules made by this treaty ended over 15 years of lobbying（游说）by environmental groups and put a stop to diplomatic(外交的）talks. In addition to preventing all oil drilling and mining, the 35 scientific outposts(前哨站） on Antarctica are required to remove all rubbish and clean up all places where unwanted waste is left. It keeps scientific stations from discharging untreated waste water into the surrounding waters.

     Sled dogs were what explorers like Norway’s Roald Amundsen used to reach the South Pole in 1911. Dogs, however, were banned because they are a recent danger to the penguins and other native birds.

    With laws enforced(实施）in 26 nations, each nation will be responsible for enforcing the rules individually. If the country’s government refuses to become involved when its citizens disobey the rules, the other nations would apply pressure to solve the issue. There are many people who see this treaty as an environmental success story.

55. The Antarctic Treaty was signed to ________.

A. attract more tourists to Antarctica

B. protect the environment of Antarctica

C. forbid diplomatic talks between countries

D. promote scientific research on Antarctica

56. Dogs are forbidden on Antarctica because they________ .

A. may pollute the surrounding environment

B. are a threat to the birds there

C. are of little use there

D. may face a great threat

57. We can infer from the text that________.

A. environmental groups are satisfied with the Antarctic Treaty

B. it is difficult to enforce the treaty

C. there are no natural resources on Antarctica

D. tourism is not allowed on Antarctica

58. Which of the following is TRUE about the Antarctic Treaty?

A. Some countries have broken the rules of it.

B. It was signed in 1998.

C. It’s effective in protecting the environment of Antarctica.

D. It fails to achieve its original purpose.

完形填空(共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分)
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.    ------ Eleanor Roosevelt
My home is a place of great beauty and agricultural richness, as well as of war and natural disasters. When I was only fourteen years old, I was filled with __36__ in spite of the terrible surroundings. The families living here, who tried to make their living from the land, __37__ great losses.
For the __38__ I felt sorry especially, but I __39__ to be hopeless. I decided that where I was, I could do __40__ to help them. I began knocking on every door and saying to each person who __41__ my knock, “I know that you are __42__ and give the birds that come to your yard a little __43__. Please consider me your bird. Give me only a handful of rice each week when I come to your __44__. I will take it to the temple where it can be given to the __45__ children.”
No one seemed to __46__ giving me a handful of rice, even __47__ they had little themselves. On Sunday, I would go to the __48__ and give my handfuls of rice to the monks to __49__ to the children.
One day, I came to a house that had __50__ to give. I told my story and asked if I could be their bird. The woman called her daughters, and __51__ gave me fifty cents, as well as the handful of rice! I began to ask for __52__ and rice from the other “bird feeders”, and they gave them to me. Everyone was happy to be helping those who were suffering, even __53__ only this small way. The temple was soon able to help everyone who came to it for food and clothing.
“Consider me your bird.” My __54__ idea had not stopped the war, but anyway, it was __55__ some peace.

One thing the tour books don’t tell you about London is that 2,000 of its residents are foxes. They ran away from the city about centuries ago after developers and pollution moved in. But now that the environment is cleaner, the foxes have come home, one of the many wild animals that have moved into urban areas around the world.

“The number and variety of wild animals in urban areas is increasing,” says Gomer Jones, president of the National Institute for Urban Wildlife, in Columbia, Maryland. A survey of the wildlife in New York’s Central Park last year tallied the species of mammals, including muskrats, shrews and flying squirrels. A similar survey conducted in the 1890s counted only five species. One of the country’s largest populations of raccoons (浣熊) now lives in Washington D.C., and moose (驼鹿) are regularly seen wandering into Maine towns. Peregrine falcons(游隼) dive from the window ledges of buildings in the largest U.S. cities to prey on (捕食) pigeons.

Several changes have brought wild animals to the cities. Foremost(首要的) is that air and water quality in many cities has improved as a result of the 1970s pollution-control efforts. Meanwhile, rural areas have been built up, leaving many animals on the edges of suburbs. In addition, urban wildlife refuges (避难处)have been created. The Greater London Council last year spent￡750,000 to buy land and build 10 permanent wildlife refuges in the city. Over 1,000 volunteers have donated money and cleared rubble from deserted lots. One evening last year a fox was seen on Westminster Bridge looking up at Big Ben.

For peregrine falcons, cities are actually safer than rural cliff dwellings (悬崖栖息地). By 1970 the birds had died out east of the Mississippi because the DDT had made their eggs too thin to support life. That year, scientist Tom Cade of Cornell University began raising the birds for release in cities, for cities afforded abundant food.

Cities can attract wild animals without turning them harmful. The trick is to create habitats where they can be self-sufficient but still be seen and appreciated. Such habitats can even be functional. In San Francisco, the local government is testing different kinds of rainwater control basins to see not only which ones retain (保持) the cleanest water but which will attract the most birds.

1.The first paragraph suggests that ________.

A．environment is vital for wildlife

B．tour books are not always a reliable source of information

C．London is a city of fox

D．foxes are highly adaptable to environment

2.Which of the following is NOT a reason that wildlife is returning to the cities?

A．Food is plentiful in the cities.

B．Wildlife is appreciated in the cities.

C．Wildlife refuges have been built in the cities

D．Air and water quality has improved in the cities

3.It can be inferred from the passage that _________.

A．Londoners are putting more and more wild animals into their zoos.

B．Londoners are happy to see wild animals return to their city

C．Londoners are trying to move wild animals back to the countryside

D．Londoners have welcomed the wild birds, but found foxes a problem