47. A. exciting B. astonishing C. encouraging D.
outstanding
Section C (12 points)
Directions: Complete the following passage using the word or phrase that best fits the
context.
Plants can't communicate by
moving or making sounds, as most animals do. _48_ , plants produce
volatile compounds, chemicals that easily change from a liquid _49_ a
gas. A flower's sweet smell, for example, comes from volatile compounds that
the _50_ produces to attract insects such as bugs and bees.
Plants can also detect volatile compounds
produced by other plants. A tree under attack _51_ hungry insects, for
instance, may give off volatile compounds that let _52_ trees know about
the attack. In response, the other trees may send off chemicals to keep the
bugs away - or even chemicals _53_ attract the bugs' natural enemies.
Now scientists have created
a quick way to understand what plants are saying: a chemical sensor (传感器) called _54_
electronic nose. The "e-nose" can tell compounds that crop plants
make when they're attacked. Scientists say the e-nose could help quickly figure
out _55_ plants are being eaten by insects. But today the only way to
detect such insects is to visually inspect individual plants.
Reading comprehension (40 points)
Section A (30 points)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is
followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there
are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according
to the information given in the passage you have just read.
A
Melissa Poe was 9 years old
when she began a campaign for a cleaner environment by writing a letter to the
then President Bush. Through her own efforts, her letter was reproduced on over
250 donated billboards(广告牌) across the country.
The response to her request
for help was so huge that Poe established Kids FOR A Cleaner Environment ( Kids
F.A.C. E.) in 1989. There are now 300,000 memberd of
Kids F.A.C.E. worldwide and it is the world’s largest youth environmental
organization.
Poe has asked the National
Park Service to carry out a “Children’s Forest”
project in every national park. In 1992, she was invited as only six children
in the world to speak at the Earth Summit in Brazil as part of the Voice of the Future
Program. In 1993, she was given a Caring Award for her efforts by the Caring
Institute.
Since the organization
started, Kids F.A.C.E. members have ditributed and
planted over 1 million trees! Ongoing tree-planting projects include Kid’s
Yard--- the creation of backyard wildlife habitats(栖息地)---and now Kids F.A.C.E is
involved in the exciting Earth Odyssey, which is a great way to start helping.
“Starting the club turned
out to be a way to help people get involved with the environment. Club members
started doing things like recycling, picking up litter and planting trees as
well as inviting other kids to join their club.”
“We are trying to tell kids
that it’s not OK to be lazy,” she explains. “ You need to start being a
responsible, environmentally friendly person now, right away, before you become
a resource-sucking adult.”