阅读理解.
                                                  
     What exactly are white lions?"They are a color variation of regular lions,"says William
Swanson,director of animal research at the Cincinnati Zoo,in Ohio.
     White lions are the result of a rare color gene mutation(变异)．When both a male and
a female lion carry the same white genes,there is a good chance that one or more of their
cubs(幼兽)will be born with white fur.
     Not many lions carry the white mutation.In nature,it's rare.A mutation can make an
animal's survival more difficult.For example,being white makes it harder for the animal to
mix with its surroundings.Mutations also can cause physical problems,so those animals
generally do not survive long enough to reproduce.
     But sometimes white lion cubs are born among wild lions,especially in two areas of
South Africa.
     In 1975 two white cubs were spotted in the wild in South African reserve.They were
seized and sent to a zoo.Today about 500 cubs of those two white lions and a few others
known to have the white color gene live around the world in zoos,circuses,farms and private
preserves.
      White lions may be extremely rare in the wild,but breeders(饲养动物的人)know how
to create more of them.This has created serious concern and debate.
      White lions continue to exist only because they are inbred by people-fathers and
daughters,sisters and brothers.Scientists worry that it also will cause health issues for white
lions.
     Inbreeding to create white lions as moneymaking attractions is only one concern.Another
concern is that some people want to release captive－bred(人工繁殖的)white lions into
the wild in South Africa to restore balance to the ecosystem.However,not everyone agrees
that releasing these white lions into the wild is a good idea.Dan York of Hillsdale College
has been studying white lion genetics and is worried.He says that because so many of today's
white lions are inbred,it could spread health problems.If they breed with wild lions,they'll
pass on the genetic problems to the wild population.
     Instead of releasing captive－bred white lions,York suggests that South Africa concentrate
on protecting all of its wild lions.That would ensure the safety of the wild population of lions,
which may produce healthy white cubs in the future.
1．It'sdifficultforawhiteliontosurvivebecause__________.
a．itsfurcontrastssharplywiththesurroundings
b．themutationmaycausephysicalproblems
c．itislikelytobeattackedbywildlions
d．itishuntedbyhumanbeings

A．a,b　　　　　　　
B．a,d
C．a,c
D．b,d

2．What does the underlined word "inbred" in Paragraph 7 probably mean?
A．kept in enclosed space and unable to run away
B．bred in human－controlled environments with restricted settings
C．produced by breeding among closely related members
D．born among wild lions and kept in the zoo
3．One of the reasons for inbreeding white lions is that __________.
A．they can bring people a profit
B．their fur can be of great use
C．people want to keep white lions as pets
D．people want to study the genes of white lions
4．Which of the following agrees with Dan York's opinion?
A．It's useless studying white lion genetics.
B．White lion cubs born among wild lions are more healthy than captive－bred ones.
C．White lions shouldn't be kept in zoos or circuses.
D．The ecosystem in South Africa is being seriously damaged.
5．It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
A．white lions are seldom seen in the wild
B．color gene mutation is common among lions
C．South Africa is taking strict measures to protect its wild lions
D．white lions will disappear from the earth soon
阅读理解。

                                                       
     Today we tell you about some new understanding of why cutting the main branch of a plant
or tree can lead to better development.
     The findings are from researchers on two_continents.Professor Prezemyslaw Prusinkiewicz
of the University of Calgary in Canada led the research with scientists from Britain and Sweden.
Their study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
     Researchers have known since the 1930s that the actively growing tip of a plant produces
a hormone(荷尔蒙)called auxin(生长素)．This hormone flows down the main stem.Scientists
say the auxin has an indirect effect on buds(芽)on the side of the stem to prevent branching.
T     hese buds themselves also produce auxin.The research suggests that to grow,they have
to be able to export the hormone into the main stem.But the flow from the stem tip prevents
them from doing this.The researchers wanted to find out how this blocking happens.
     Professor Prusinkiewicz is on leave in Australia,but he sent us an e－mail suggesting a
simple way to understand the process.Think of a major road crowded with traffic.So many
cars are on the main road that the cars on the side roads cannot enter.
     The stem is like the crowded main road.The new research shows that the buds on the
side cannot export their auxin into the main stem because it is too full.But if that main shoot
is pruned(修剪),other buds below it can start exporting.They are no longer prevented from
growing.
     Ottoline Leyser from the University of York says that after a plant is pruned,all the
inhibited(被抑制的)shoot tips compete with each other to grow.In doing this,the branches
influence each other's growth.Nearby shoot tips are more likely to affect each other than those
that are far apart from each other.
     Professor Leyser says the strongest branches grow best,wherever they may be on the
plant.The study found that the main shoot grows the best of all not because of its position at
the top of the plant,but mostly because it got there first.

1．The underlined part "two continents" in Paragraph 2 refers to"__________"．
A．Asia and Africa
B．Africa and Europe
C．North America and Europe
D．Australia and Europe
2．Professor Prusinkiewicz compares the cars on the side roads to __________.
A．plant stems  
B．plant buds
C．the leaves of a plant  
D．the roots of a plant
3．To make the buds on the side of the stem to grow better,the main shoot should __________.
A．be cut off
B．be protected
C．be watered as much as possible
D．be given much auxin
4．According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?

A．Researchers have recently found out that the growing tip of a plant produces hormones.
B．Auxin has a direct effect on buds to keep branches from growing.
C．Buds on the side of the stem can’t produce hormones.
D．In order to grow，the buds on the side of the stem export the hormones into the main stem.

5．Which of the following may be the best title for this passage?
A．Why shoot tips grow fast?
B．When and how to prune plants?
C．Scientists help cut the mystery behind pruning
D．The great scientist-Prezemyslaw Prusinkiewicz
阅读理解。
    Camille Mahlknecht,9,has some big fun planned for this weekend.She and other residents of Agoura
Hills,California,plan to pick up trash during their city's annual cleanup.At the same time,Wissam Raed,12,
will be busy volunteering too.Thousands of miles away in Lebanon,Wissam plans to put on a play at an
orphanage and bring potted plants to elderly people at a senior citizen center.
    Some other children like Nathan White,10,have personal reasons for volunteering.Nathan's grandmother
died of a heart attack.To help raise money for medical research,Nathan participated in Jump Rope for
Heart.He and five other boys took turns jumping rope for two and half hours and collected more than US
$1,200 in donations for the American Heart Association.
    Millions of children around the globe lend a hand to their communities every year.Schools and parents
also contribute to the rise in youth service.For example,many schools offer community service activities for
students to join.Teachers either combine volunteer work with classroom lessons or make service work a
requirement.Parents,on the other hand,encourage their kids to volunteer and do it with them.
    Community service is particularly important in this depression time.As the need for monetary support
and other aid has increased,many charitable organizations have experienced a significant drop in donations.
Camille and other children who volunteer thousands of hours annually can fill in some of the gaps.
     According to research, kids who start  volunteering are  twice as likely  to continue doing good deeds
when they are adults.So,grab a paintbrush,a trash bag,or whatever you need to help your community.You'll
love how you feel after helping others.Even dirty work can be lots of fun,if it's for a good cause.
1．What's the writer's purpose of writing this passage?
A．To recommend youth service programs to schools.
B．To ask charity organizations to serve the community.
C．To urge children to take part in volunteering activities.
D．To propose alternatives for doing community services.
2．What is the main idea of the 3rd paragraph?
A．Community service is gaining popularity among children.
B．Families and schools help to make community service popular.
C．Children now depend more on their teachers than on their parents.
D．Nathan White had a special reason to raise money for medical research.
3．Why is community service important in a time of depression?
A．It raises money for school activities.
B．It teaches children to take care of the sick.
C．It gives charity organizations some needed help.
D．It encourages parents and teachers to work together.
4．What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Community service can help prevent juvenile delinquency(青少年犯罪)．
B．Children will probably leave school and work as volunteers.
C．Organizing sports events for the school is a kind of community service.
D．Children who do volunteer work are more likely to grow up to be caring adults.
阅读理解.
     What can a wide eyed,talking robot teach us about trust? A lot,according to Northeastern psychology
professor David DeSteno, and his colleagues, who are conducting a research to determine how humans
decide to trust strangers.
     The interdisciplinary(跨学科的) research project,funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) ,
is being conducted together  with Cynthia Breazeal,director of  the  MIT  Media Lab's Personal Robots
Group, Robert Frank,an economist,and David Pizarro,a psychologist,both from Cornell.
     The researchers are examining whether gestures could affect our trustworthiness judgments."People
tend to mimic(模仿)each other's body language,"said DeSteno,"which might help them develop intuitions
(直觉) about what other people are feeling."
     This project tests their theories by having humans interact with the social robot,Nexi,in an attempt to
judge her trustworthiness.Without knowing the participants,Nexi has been programmed to make gestures
while speaking with selected participants-gestures that the team thinks could determine whether or not
she's considered trustworthy.
     During the first part of the experiment, Nexi makes small talk with them for 10 minutes, asking and
answering questions about topics such as traveling,where they're from and what they like most about living
in Boston.
     "The goal was to create a normal conversation with accompanying movements to see what the mind
would intuitively(直觉地) collect about the trustworthiness of another,"said DeSteno.
     The participants then play an economic game called "Give Some",which asks them to determine how
much money Nexi might give them at the expense of her individual profit.Meanwhile,they decide how
much,if any,they'll give to Nexi.The rules of the game allow for two distinct outcomes:higher individual
profit for one and loss for the other,or relatively smaller and equal profits for both partners.
     "Trust mightn't be determined by only one gesture,but rather a 'dance' that happens between the
strangers,which leads them to trust or not trust the other," said DeSteno,who will continue testing their
theories by seeing if Nexi can be taught to predict the trustworthiness of human partners.
1．How many fields does the research involve?
A．Two fields.    
B．Three fields.
C．Four fields.  
D．Five fields.
2．According to the text,the researchers focused on ________.
A．the writing communication
B．the voice communication
C．the gesture?based communication
D．the online communication
3．According to the text,the first part of the experiment is to ________.
A．create a special conversation
B．intuitively watch the trustworthiness
C．accompany the robot closely
D．play an economic game
4．The underlined word"dance" in the last paragraph means ________.
A．the gestures from each other
B．a kind of entertainment
C．a simple gesture
D．one person's gestures
阅读理解.
     Every day,all across the nation,as many as one in four children refuses to go to school.The
reasons are various."School Refusal",formerly known as"School Phobia",is an actual
anxietybased disorder.Many children are vague about their complaints and unable to be sure
what is making them anxious,so it is sometimes regarded as typical childhood will fullness.
However,the effects of constant school refusal can be farreaching for your child's education.
     So,where's the line between what's normal and what's not?"You need to look at whether
it is affecting the child or family's normal life,"explains Christopher Kearney,Ph.D.In other
words,if a child's grades are suffering from frequent absences or a parent's job is disturbed,
it is time to look closely at the issue.Parents should listen carefully to children who say they
can't go to school because of "untestable things"such as stomachaches or headaches.While
these complaints alone don't necessarily indicate school refusal,there may be deeper problems
if combined with general complaints about school,talks of threats at school and so on.
     There are different kinds of behavior in school refusal.Some children are influenced by their
friends who skip school to hang out with their friends,showing a sense of rebellion(叛逆)．
Some children cling to their mothers,screaming at the thought of having to enter the school
building.
     However,that doesn't mean that getting a child back into the classroom is impossible.
According to Maryann Roth,a school psychologist and guidance counselor(顾问),parents
should attempt to make the child get back to school,no matter how hard it is.Working closely
with school officials and possibly a specialist to create a plan is a necessary step.
1．The underlined word"vague"(Paragraph 1)is closest in meaning to ________.
A．irregular
B．unclear
C．curious
D．unusual
2．According to Paragraph 2，the real reason of “School Refusal”may be that the children ________.
A．are suffering from illness
B．are afraid of endless tests
C．want to stay with their parents
D．feel bored and unsafe at school
3．When facing“School Refusal”of their children，parents should ________.

A．take the problem seriously if their daily life is disturbed
B．discuss the seriousness of the problem with their children
C．take their children to see the doctor immediately
D．keep their children away from their rebellious friends

4．The passage intends to ________.
A．explain that “School Refusal” is a symptom of an illness
B．explain the phenomenon of “School Refusal” and how to treat it
C．remind parents to take good care of their children
D．explain that “School Refusal” is normal and not serious
阅读理解.

     A major source of teen stress is school exams,and test anxiety is not uncommon.When
you recognize your teen is under stress,how can parents help your teen stay calm before
an exam?
     Be involved.Parents need to be involved in their teen's work.__1__What they look for is
your presence-to talk,to cry,or simply to sit with them quietly.Communicate openly with your
teen.Encourage your teen to express his worries and fears,but don't let them focus on those
fears.
     Help them get organized.__2__Together,you and your teen can work out a timetable in
which she can study for what she knows will be on the test.
     Provide a calm setting.Help your teen set up a quiet place to study and protect his privacy.
Give them a nutritious diet.It's important for your teen to eat a healthy,balanced diet during
exam times to focus and do her best.__3__If this happens,encourage your teen to eat light
meals or sandwiches.A healthy diet,rather than junk food,is best for reducing stress.
     __4__Persuade your teenager to get some sleep and/or do something active when she
needs a real break from studying.Making time for relaxation,fun,and exercise are all important
in reducing stress.Help your teen balance her time so that she will feel comfortable taking time
out from studying to spend time with friends or rest.
     Show a positive attitude.__5__Your panic,anxiety and blame contribute to your teen's
pressure.Make your teen feel accepted and valued for her efforts.Most importantly,reassure
your teen that things will be all right,no matter what the results are.

A．A parent's attitude will dictate their teen's emotions.
B．Exam stress can make some teens lose their appetite.
C．They will only make the situation worse.
D．Encourage your teen to relax.
E．The best thing is simply to listen.
F．Help your teen think about what she has to study and plan accordingly.
G．Your teen may also make negative comments about themselves.

阅读理解。
     Imagine a classroom missing the one thing that's long been considered a necessary part to
reading and writing paper.No notebooks,no textbooks,no test paper.Nor are there any pencils
or pens,which always seem to run out of ink at the critical moment.A"paperless classroom"is
what more and more schools are trying to achieve.
     Students don't do any handwriting in this class.Instead,they use palm size,or
specially-designed computers.The teacher downloads texts from Internet libraries and sends
them to every student's personal computer.
     Having computers also means that students can use the Web.They can look up information
on any subject they're studying from maths to social science.
     High school teacher Judy Herrell in Florida,US,described how her class used the Web to
learn about the war in Afganistan(阿富汗) over one year ago.
     "We could touch every side of the country through different sites from the forest to refugee
camps(难民营),"she said."Using a book that's three or four years old is impossible."
     And exams can go online too.At a high school in Tennessee,US,students take tests on
their own computers.The teacher records the grades on the network for everyone to see and
then copies them to his own electronic grade book.
     A paperless classroom is a big step towards reducing the waste of paper.High school
teacher Stephanie Sorrell in Kentucky US said she used to give about 900 pieces of paper
each week to each student.
     "Think about the money and trees we could save with the computers,"she said.But,with
all this technology,there's always the risk that the machines will break_down.So, in case of
a power failure or technical problems, paper textbooks are still widely available(可用的) for
these hitech students.
1．What does the part of the last but one sentence in the first paragraph,"run out of ink at
the critical moment" mean?
A．Pens may not write welt at the critical moment.
B．Pens get lost easily,so you may not find them at the critical moment.
C．Pens may have little or no ink at the critical moment.
D．Pens use ink,while pencils don't.
2．In a paperless classroom, what is a must?
A．Pens.           
B．Computers.  
C．Information.               
D．Texts.
3．The high school teacher，Judy Herrell，used the example of her class to show that________.
A．the Web could take them everywhere
B．the Web taught them a lot
C．the Web is a good tool for information
D．the Web，better than the textbooks，can give the latest and comprehensive(全面的) information
4．The paperless classrooms will benefit ________ the most.
A．students          
B．teachers  
C．trees              
D．computers
5．What does the phrase in the last paragraph，“break down”，mean?
A．Break into pieces.        
B．Stop working.
C．Fall down.              
D．Lose control.
     Sydney-A shark savaged a schoolboy's leg while he was surfing with his father at a beach in Sydney
on February 23. It was the third shark attack along the coast of Australia's largest city in a month.
     The 15yearold boy and his father were in the water off Avalon, on Sydney's northern beaches,
around dawn when he was attacked. The city's beaches are packed with locals and tourists during the
summer months.
     "The father heard a scream and turned to see his son thrashing(激烈扭动)about in the water, "police
said. "Fortunately, the shark swam away and the boy was helped to the shore by his father. "
     Lifesaving Club spokesman Nick Miller said, "It got him around the top of his left leg and the father
came and dragged him out of water. "He said the boy was bleeding heavily when he was brought to the
shore. "There was a lot of pain, as you can imagine. "The teenager was airlifted to hospital for treatment
for leg injuries.
     Police said the bites "cut through to the bone", but the boy did not appear to have sustained any
fractures (骨折).  He was in a stable condition now.
     Several beaches were closed after the attack. Water police and lifeguards were searching for the
shark, while police hoped to identify its species by the shape of the bite marks. But they said it was too
early to say what type of shark attacked the boy. "I don't even know if he saw it, "Miller said.
     Many shark species live in the waters off Sydney's beaches, but attacks on humans are still relatively
rare.  However, there were two attacks on successive days earlier this month, one on a navy diver in
Sydney harbor, not far from the famous Opera House, and the other on a surfer at the city's
worldfamous Bondi beach.
    Fishermen say shark numbers are on the rise. There is a ban on commercial fishing in the harbor,
which has increased fish stocks. Marine experts also claim environmental protection has created a
cleaner environment, attracting sharks closer to the shore as they chase fish. Many shark species,
including the Great White-the maneaters made famous in Steven Spielberg's Jaws-are protected in
Australian waters.
1. The report mainly tells us ________.
A. shark attacks on humans are on the rise
B. sharks attacked humans three times in one month
C. a boy was attacked by a shark at a Sydney beach
D. shark numbers are increasing in the waters off Sydney's beaches
2. The underlined word "savaged" in the first paragraph probably means "________".  
A. attracted      
B. dragged
C. bit                    
D. packed
3. What do we know about the city of Sydney from the passage?
A. It is one of the largest cities in Australia.
B. Sydney harbor is not far from the famous Opera House.
C. There are many locals and tourists on its coast all the year round.
D. There are few shark species in the waters off Sydney's beaches.
4.  About the injury of the boy we know that ________.
A. he was losing much blood when he was dragged out
B. he was very nervous when he was sent to hospital
C. he may be in danger of losing his leg
D. he was injured in the right leg
5. All the following are the causes of Australia's sharks' increasing EXCEPT that ________.
A. environmental protection has created a cleaner environment
B. a ban on commercial fishing has increased fish numbers
C. many shark species are protected in Australian waters
D. the film Jaws has made the Great White famous
阅读理解

     We've used the wind as an energy source for a long time.The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4000 years ago, and sailing boats were around long before
that.Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind (磨碎) corn, which is where the term "windmill" comes from.

     We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propellor on the top.The wind
blows the propellor round, which turns a generator to produce electricity.
     We tend  to build many of these  towers together, to make a "wind farm" and produce more electricity.The more towers, the more wind, and the larger the propellors, the more electricity we can make.It's only worth building wind farms in places that have strong, steady winds, although boats and caravans (大篷车) increasingly have small wind generators to help keep their batteries charged.
     The best places for wind farms are in coastal areas, at the tops of rounded hills, open plains and gaps in mountains-places where the wind is strong and reliable.Some are offshore.To be worthwhile, you need
an average wind speed of around 25 km/h.Most wind farms in the UK are in Cornwall or Wales.Isolated places such as farms may have their own wind generators.In California, several "wind farms" supply
electricity to homes around Los Angeles.
      The propellors are large, to obtain energy from the largest possible volume of air.The blades can be
angled to cope with varying wind speeds.Some designs use vertical turbines (垂直涡轮机), which don't
need to be turned to face the wind.The towers are tall, to get the propellors as high as possible, up to
where the wind is stronger.This means that the land beneath can still be used for farming.
1. The first paragraph aims to introduce to us________.
A. the function of wind power
B. the source of wind power
C. the nations using wind power  
D. the history of using wind power
2. How does a wind power work?
A. The generator turns the propeller blades and produce electricity.
B. The tall tower helps turn the energy in the air into electricity.
C. Warm air rises and makes the propellor move round.
D. The propellor blown round by wind turns the generator to produce electricity.
3. The best places for building the wind farm are places where______.
A. boats and caravans can often be seen
B. isolated farms don't have enough electricity
C. there are less human activities
D. the wind is strong and reliable
4. We can infer from the passage that________.
A. wind farms will not take up too much farming land
B. wind farms need no fuel because wind is free
C. the blades can be angled to turn to face the wind wherever it comes from
D. the higher and larger the towers are, the stronger the wind is
5. What can be a suitable title for the passage?
A. Where to build a wind farm
B. ABC of the using of wind energy
C. How to make best use of wind
D. Wind energy is the best energy
阅读理解.
     Charter schools operate with public money but without many of the rules that govern
traditional public schools.In the United States the rules for charter schools differ from state
to state.But in general these schools have greater freedom to decide what to teach and how
to teach it.

     The "charter" is a performance contract.It establishes the goals of the school and other
details like how student performance will be measured.Fortyseven million students attend
traditional public schools.But more than a million students attend charter schools.
     And now a group of charter schools have formed the Green Charter Schools Network.
The idea is to have environmentally friendly school buildings but to also go further than that.
The schools teach students to become involved in community issues that affect them and
the environment.For example,young children grow crops in a school garden and learn
about healthy eating.Older students help recycle waste from the cafeteria.And local schools
share what they grow in community gardens with people in need.
     Jim McGrath is president of the Green Charter Schools Network.He says there are
about 200 "green" charter schools across the United States.He says the plan is to also
include traditional public schools as well as private schools.
     Jim McGrath:"The most important thing is that every one of us-every child,every
adult-has a responsibility that their action,every action we make has an effect on the earth
that we live in.And that our natural resources are not unlimited.And that if we want a
positive earth for future generations,we all need to make commitments to be agents of
change so that we don't destroy our natural resources."
     T he Green Charter Schools Network holds its first national conference this October
in Minnesota.It will include companies and organizations like Waste Management and the
United States Green Building Council.We sincerely hope that their goal is to expand the
movement across the country.
1．Charter schools are quite different from public ones in that____.
A．they are operated by public money
B．they still use the traditional rules
C．they have more freedom in management
D．they attract more students than others
2．The Green Charter Schools Network is established to______.
A．advise teenagers to attend charter schools
B．paint the school buildings in the color of green
C．measure the students with the same standards
D．get students involved in environment friendly activities
3．The following statements about the Network are true EXCEPT________.
A．It only concerns the charter schools in the US
B．It holds its first national conference in Minnesota
C．It will benefit both the schools and the communities
D．It promotes different schools to share their achievements
4．According to Jim McGrath,________.
A．people's action plays little part in nature
B．natural resources are abundant for people to use
C．students should be taught to be responsible for the world
D．everyone should make efforts to change the positive nature
5．What's the writer's purpose of writing this passage?
A．To criticize the traditional education system.
B．To encourage the students to adopt healthy eating.
C．To inspire people to recycle waste from the cafeteria.
D．To arouse the schools to take action to protect the earth.
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