Death Valley, one of America’s great national parks, is a place of strange and silent beauty. As beautiful as this place is, its name provides evidence of very real danger. Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous extremes. There are mountains that reach more than 3,000 meters into the sky. There is a place called Badwater that is the lowest area of land in the Western Hemisphere. If there were water there, it would be 86 meters below the level of the ocean.
Death Valley can be dangerously cold during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley. The air temperature during the summer has been as high as 57℃. The sun can heat the ground so that the temperature of the rocks and soil can be as high as 74℃. The extreme heat of Death Valley has killed people in the past. It will continue to kill those who do not honor this extreme climate. Death Valley does not forgive those who are not careful.
Death Valley is a good example of the violence of nature. It contains evidence of several ancient volcanoes that caused huge explosions. Evidence of one of these explosions is called Ubehebe Crater. The explosion left a huge hole in the ground almost a kilometer and a half wide.
In many areas of Death Valley it is easy to see where the ground has been pushed up violently by movement deep in the Earth. This movement has created unusual and beautiful rock formations. Some are red. Others are dark brown, gray, yellow or black. Other areas of rock look as if some huge creature violently broke and twisted the Earth to create unusual, sometimes frightening shapes.
In other parts of Death Valley there are lines in the rock that show clearly that this area was deep under an ocean for many thousands of years. Much of the Valley is flat and extremely dry. In fact, scientists believe it is the driest place in the United States.
Death Valley, part of the Great Mojave Desert, is a huge place. It extends more than 225 kilometers across the southern part of California, and across the border with Nevada.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

Too cold for recess?  School policies vary as much as temps

When is it too cold for schoolchildren to go outside for recess（课间休息）? The answer varies widely based on where a school is located and what the kids are used to.

Consider:  One northern Minnesota school says it has to be 15 below zero before kids are kept inside. But in areas along the East Coast, temperatures below 35 to 40 degrees could keep kids inside. Canceling recess because of the cold is no small issue considering that much of the USA is trembling through what may be its coldest winter in a generation, according to AccuWeather.

There is no national temperature standard for when to keep kids inside during the winter months, the U.S. Department of Education says. Decisions are made at the local level, either by principals or school districts.

Consequently, policies are all over the map:

?? In International Falls, Minn., the self-described "Icebox of the Nation," where the average high temperature in January is 13 degrees, Falls Elementary School Principal Jerry Hilfer says, "if it's 15 below (or warmer), they go out, no matter what." "At 20 below, it gets iffy," he adds.

?? In Wicomico County, Md., principals typically keep children indoors when temperatures drop below freezing, or if it's raining or snowing, says Susan Jones, the school system's director of elementary education.

"That's the bottom line," says Curtis Twilley, principal of Pemberton Elementary School in Salisbury, Md. Twilley says students get little exercise when recess stays indoors. At Pemberton Elementary, the students will typically play board games or computer games in a classroom because the school's gym is occupied with other classes, he says.

?? For schools in Marquette, Mich., which averages about 12 feet of snow per season, school officials acknowledge students are probably a little more prepared than those in some more mild climates.

Which of the following is not true according to the passage_________.

A. No national temperature standard is made for when to keep kids inside during the winter months.

B. Susan Jones insists students get little exercise when recess stays indoors.

C. In Wicomico County, children are kept indoors when temperatures dip below freezing.

D. Mich has about 12 feet of snow per season on average.

Which place calls itself Box of Ice?

Wicomico County  B. Marquette    C.Salisbury       D. Minn

Considering_______, canceling recess In USA because of the cold is a big issue.

A. different schools have different principles.

B. much of the USA has very cold winter.

C. physical activity can boost student performance.

D. decisions are made at the local level,

The underlined word iffy means _______.

A. uncertain        B. surprising  C.  serious     D. worse

What will be talked about next?

A. More school policies 

B. The reasons why school policies vary.

C. Measures to improve the situation.

D. Necessities to improve the situation

After years of hearing drivers complain about scratches on their cars, Japan’s Nissan Motor Company has officially announced the next big thing — a paint that not only resists scratches and scrapes, but actually repairs itself within a few days.

The new material, developed by Nippon Paint Company, contains an elastic rubbery-like resin (弹性树脂) that is able to heal minor marks caused by car wash equipment, parking lot encounters, road debris (石头碎片) or even on-purpose destruction.

    The automaker admits its results vary depending on the temperature and the depth of the damage, but adds this is the only paint like it in the world, and tests prove it works.

Minor scratches, the most common type, are said to slowly fade over about a week. And once they’re gone, there is no trace that they were ever there.

The special paint is said to last for at least three years after it is first applied, but there is no word yet on whether more can be added after that period.

Nissan claims car washes are the worst offenders for this type of damage, accounting for at least 80 percent of all incidents.

    But the complete auto-healing won’t come without scratching your wallet. The vehicle maker notes the special paint adds about $100 US to the price of a car.

It plans to use its new chemical mixture only on its X-Trail SUVs in Japan for now, as it looks for a more widespread presentation. And while plans to offer the feature overseas haven’t been made yet, if it’s a hit there, you can be almost sure market forces will drive it to these shores, as well.

From the article, we can find that _________.

A. the paint has already been used on cars by now

B. it beats other products of its kind in its lengthy effect

C. car damage is mainly caused by scratches and scrapes

D. marketing this paint in Europe is not under way

The paint used on cars can _________.

A. last 3 years before it is reapplied again

B. fade only in a few days

C. help to protect minor paint damage

D. reduce car scrape incidents to 20 percent

What does the underlined part refer to?

A. certain models of Nissan                        B. name for one kind of paint

C. somewhere in Japan                              D. a word standing for a car-dealer store

What can be inferred from the article?

A. The paint was developed by Nissan Motor Company.

B. The paint might work better in summer than in winter.

C. The mark on the car could disappear as soon as the pain is applied.

D. The paint is very popular in Japan.

It is winter in many parts of the world. For some areas, that means snow. Maybe even lots of snow. If you don’t have to drive in it or remove it, snow can be very beautiful. When snow covers everything around you, the world looks like a “winter wonderland”. That is the name of a very popular song about winter. Richard Smith and Felix Bernard wrote the song back in 1934. There are hundreds of recordings of this happy song.

But winter is not always such a beautiful and happy time. It’s cold outside. You try hard to keep warm. The days are darker and shorter. The sun rarely shines. The leaves on the trees are brown. It isn’t surprising that some people are sad in winter. And some people dream about being somewhere else where it’s warm and pretty—like the state of California. The Mamas and the Papas recorded this famous song “California Dreaming”.

    During the 1960s, many other famous rock groups released songs about winter. Here is a poetic song by Simon and Garfunkel called “A Hazy Shade of Winter”. They sing about life and hope and possibilities.

In 1968, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded this gentle, sad song about winter. They sing about a lost love and forgotten memories in “Sometimes in Winter”.

In the early 1990s, Tori Amos wrote and recorded the beautiful song called “Winter”. She enjoyed singing about winter when she was a child.

    Finally, on a happier note comes this song written and recorded by Fountains of Wayne in 2003. They sing about a snowstorm in a New England town. Nothing unusual there. But instead of being sad or tense about the snow, they write a song about it.

1.When is snow beautiful?

A. When people drive in it.

B. When people don’t have to take it away.

C. When it has snowed heavily.

D. When people sing in the snow.

2.According to the second paragraph, winter is ________ .

A. beautiful and happy                          

B. happy and warm      

C. lovely and hopeful                          

D. cold and sad

3.Which of the songs can bring us hope of life?

A. Winter Wonderland.                 

B. California Dreaming.

C. A Hazy Shade of Winter.            

D. Sometimes in Winter.

4.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Songs about winter.             

B. Different ideas about winter.

C. Winter in different areas.      

D. Winter is cold but happy. 

七．阅读理解 (20分)   

When did you see a polar bear ? On a trip to a zoo, perhaps ? If you had attended a winter activity in New York a few years ago, you would have seen a whole polar bear club. These  “Polar Bears” are people who meet frequently in the winter to swim in freezing cold water. That day, the air temperature was 3 degrees. And the water temperature was a little higher. The members of the Polar Bear Club at Coney Island, New York are usually about the age of 60. Members must satisfy two requirements. First, they must get along well with everyone else in the group; this is very important because there are so many different kinds of people in the club. Polar Bears must also agree to swim outdoors at least twice a month from November through February.

Doctors don’t agree about the medical effects of cold-water swimming. Some are worried about the dangers of a condition in which the body’s temperature drops so slow that finally the heart stops. Other doctors, however, point out that there is more danger of a heart attack during summer swimming because the difference between the air temperature and the water tempreature is much greater in summer than in winter.

The Polar Bears themselves are satisfied with the benefits of cold-water swimming. They say that their favorite form of exercise is very good for the circulatory system (循环系统) because it forces the blood to move fast to keep the body warm. Cold-water swimmers usually turn bright red after a few minutes in the water. A person who turns blue probably has a very poor circulatory system and could not try cold-water swimming.

The main benefits of cold-water swimming are probably mental. The Polar Bears love to swim all the year round; they find it fun and relaxing. As one 70-year-old woman says, “When I go into the water, I pour my troubles into the ocean and let them float away.”

1. Doctors _________ .

A. have different ideas about the medical effects of cold-water swimming

B. believe swimming is helpful both in summer and in winter

C. enourage people to take part in cold-water swimming

D. point out the possible danger of blood illness during cold-water swimming

2. According to the passage, some doctors believe it is true that _______ .

A. Polar bears are bears swimming in freezing water    

B. cold-water swimming can make the body temperature dangerously high            

C. you are healthy if cold-water swimming turns your skin color blue           

D. cold-water swimming causes more heart attack in summer than in winter

3. The Polar Bears like to swim year-round, for _______ .

A. it is an easy way to keep the body warm in winter                        

B. they can stay young

C. they find it enjoyable and interesting

D. they might meet fewer troubles in life

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text ?

A.The Polar Bear is a club in which people swim to protect polar bears.

B. The club members are all over 60 years old.

C. There is no woman in the club.

D. None of the above.

5. This passage is mainly about _______ .

A. the requirements of the Polar Bear Club                

B. a group of cold-water-swimming lovers

C. the Polar Bears’ life in New York                 

D. doctors’ ideas about cold-water swimming