Why do 33% of the households in the USA have cats? And how do you explain why there are 16 million more pet cats than dogs? Yes, kittens are adorable （讨人喜欢的）．Yes, they can grow up to be good mousers and are very entertaining to watch．And yes, cats are independent and don't require as much care as dogs．But research shows cats can also be caretakers for us and our families, improve our health and teach us and our children to be kinder, gentler souls．

Theodora Wesselman is 94 and has lived the past two years with her elderly cat, Cleo, at TigerPlace, a retirement community in Columbia, Mo．Their enduring friendship is a classic example of how humans and animals can become family and look out for each other．

Wesselman visits other residents, and her children stop by, but Cleo is her best friend, she says．They've been together nearly 21 years．

"She sleeps on her own pillow right beside mine," Wesselman says．"In the morning, she pecks on my cheek to wake me up．It's really sweet．I pet her, tell her I love her and take her to the kitchen to prepare her food．"

Research shows that being able to care for a pet improves our morale （士气;精神状态）, helps validate us and encourages us to take care of ourselves, says Rebecca Johnson, director of the University of Missouri's Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction．The body of research is leading more retirement communities and universities to roll out the welcome mat for pets．

1.According to the context, where do you think the sentence “They start and end the day together” should appear in the passage?

2.Which of the following words best describe the author’s attitude towards keeping pet cats?

3.Why does the author take 94-year-old Theodora Wesselman as an example in the passage?

4.What does “to roll out the welcome mat for pets” in the last paragraph imply?

This picture was taken a long time ago. I wonder if you can 　　　 my mother.

Each spring brings a new wildflower blooming in the fields along the highway I travel daily to work.

There is one particular blue flower that has always caught my eye. I've noticed that it blooms only in the morning hours. The afternoon sun is too warm for it. Every day each year for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.
This spring, I started a wildflower garden in my yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I've often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the fields would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers.
Every day I drove past the flowers, thinking, "I'll stop on my way home and dig them." "Gee, I don't want to get my good clothes dirty…" Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a tool one year for that expressed purpose.
One day on my way home from work, I was saddened to see that the highway department had cleared up the fields and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, "Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring. "
A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister-in-law has a cancer. She is 20 years older than my husband and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven't been as close as we all would have liked.
I couldn't help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my husband's sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us.
And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, I'm sure I'll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden.
【小题1】How long might the blue flower bloom in spring?

第二节：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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Man-made Causes
Man-made causes probably do the most damage. There are many man-made causes.  21  is one of the biggest man-made problems. Pollution  22  in many shapes and sizes. Burning fossil fuels is one thing that causes pollution. Fossil(化石) fuels(燃料)are fuels made of organic matter such as coal, or oil. when fossil fuels are burned they  23  a green house gas called CO2. Also mining coal and oil allows methane to escape. How does it escape? Methane(甲烷)is  24  in the ground.  25  coal or oil is mined you have to dig up the earth a little. When you dig up the fossil fuels you dig up the methane as well.
Another major man-made  26  of Global Warming is population. More people  27  more food, and more methods of transportation, right? That means more methane because  28  will be more burning of fossil fuels, ­ 29  more agriculture. Now you’re probably thinking, “Wait a minute, you said agriculture is going to be damaged by Global Warming, but  30  you’re saying agriculture is going to help cause Global Warming?” Well, have you  31 been in a barn filled with animals and you smell something  32 ? You re  33  methane. Another source of methane is manure. Because more food is needed we have to raise food. Animals like cows are a source of food which means more manure and methane. Another problem  34  the increasing population is  35 . More people means more cars, and more cares means more pollution. Also, many people have more than one car.
Since CO2 contributes to global warming, the increase in population makes the problem worse because we breathe out CO2.  36 , the trees that change our CO2 to oxygen are being demolished because we’re using the land that we cut the trees down from as property  37 our homes and buildings. We are not replacing the trees(an important part of our ecosystem), so we are  38  taking  39  of our natural resources and giving nothing back in  40 .
21．A．Pollution            B．Damage               C．Fossil           D．Transportation
22．A．goes                   B．comes                 C．takes            D．moves
23．A．give off                    B．look out               C．burn away     D．take in
24．A．originally           B．mostly                 C．naturally       D．usually
25．A．Because             B．When                  C．While           D．But
26．A．reason                B．excuse                 C．cause            D．problem
27．A．eats                    B．takes                   C．produces       D．means
28．A．it                        B．there                   C．that               D．they
29．A．and                           B．or                        C．though         D．but
30．A．then                   B．there                   C．before          D．now
31．A．ever                   B．yet                      C．still               D．even
32．A．Pleasant             B．terrible                C．sweet           D．nice
33．A．feeling               B．using                   C．looking        D．smelling
34．A．of                       B．as                        C．with                    D．for
35．A．pollution            B．population          C．warming             D．transportation
36．A．Also                   B．However             C．Therefore      D．Thus
37．A．as                       B．for                       C．like               D．to
38．A．quickly               B．constantly           C．surely           D．usually
39．A．use                      B．part                      C．hold                    D．advantage
40．A．return                 B．turn                      C．general         D．total

I was in a department store with my mom, aunt, and my sister a few days ago.  36 , I am one of those people who do not like to go shopping with my family. However, I decided this time to 37 them.

My aunt and I were 38 for some things to buy for our family when I noticed two 39 on the side. One of them had a little girl sitting on it with her 40 nearby and the other one was 41 . So, I decided to sit down. While I was 42  my own thing there, I 43 that the family were not in front of the  44  anymore. I saw the girl 45 and look around for her family. She came back and I saw her in 46, crying.

I knew that she 47 her family and was all by herself . Now, I am sure that almost everybody has been lost in a department store or 48 big before and we all know that feeling. 49 I went up to her and asked what was 50 and in between tears she told me she was lost. I 51 her a smile card I just bought. You should have seen the 52 on her face when she read it. Then I went up to customer service center and 53 them what happened. People there promised to 54 her. After I left, the little girl’s parents went there and I could see them looking around for the person who had found their daughter and given her the 55. Little did they know it was a regular teenager who did it.

A．Luckily                B．Usually                   C．Sadly                  D．Surprisingly

A．help             B．encourage           C．join                 D．support

A．answering         B．looking             C．preparing         D．calling

A．chairs            B．children             C．signs               D．toys

A．friends           B．book               C．family             D．bags

．A．clean           B．large               C．empty              D．beautiful

A．studying         B．carrying            C．buying             D．doing

A．noticed          B．believed            C．doubted           D．understood

A．shop             B．gift                C．girl                 D．lady

A．get up           B．come up            C．give up            D．make up

A．return           B．detail              C．vain                D．tears

A．hated            B．raised              C．lost                 D．lived

A．somewhere       B．something          C．everywhere      D．everything

A．If             B．As                 C．So                   D．Or

A．important        B．wrong              C．strange            D．different

A．lent              B．gave               C．sent                 D．posted

A．smile            B．hope              C．puzzle             D．worry

A．reminded             B．warned           C．asked              D．told

A．look out for          B．take care of             C．wait for           D．call up

A．courage          B．money            C．explanation      D．card