Every spring scores of people flock to the Buzzard Festival at Hinckley, Ohio. They come to watch for buzzards. Most would be glad just to take a look at a buzzard. If they do see one of these" flying garbage cans", it will probably be circling high in the sky. From there it can watch the ground for signs of the waste and the dead animals on which it feeds.

The buzzard is the ugliest bird in the United States. In fact, it may well be the ugliest bird in the world. It has a small, bare, pink head. Its thick body is covered with dark, rough feathers.

In spite of its looks, the buzzard is important to the people of Hinckley. It is their first sign of spring. After a winter in the south, buzzards return to their homes in the north. In the Hinckley area, they always return on March 15. No one knows why. But they have come back to Hinckley Ridge on that day, sure as clocks work, for at least forty years.

The excitement starts in February. By the middle of March it has reached a high peak. Bets are placed. Prizes go to the person who sees the first buzzard. Radio stations and newspapers tell of the coming festival. And on the weekend after March 15 the people of Hinckley hold their Buzzard Festival.

The people come and look around. They chat. They eat their fill of pancakes and sausages. Then they drive past Buzzard's Roost on Hinckley Ridge.

A lot of them stop near the road at the stand set up to give information to visitors. There they can hear, from a recording, the main facts about the buzzard. They can see a stuffed buzzard. They can look at some pictures taken of buzzards in other years. With good luck and a strong pair of field glasses, they may sight one or two live buzzards high in the sky.

Buzzards may be ugly. They may be "flying garbage cans". But in Hinckley they are just as welcome as the swallows in Capistrano, California. It would be a sad spring indeed if the buzzards ever failed to come back to Hinckley Ridge.

1.A good title for this story would be __________.

A．The Hinckley Buzzard Festival

B．Buzzard, the Ugliest Bird

C．Why the Buzzard Has a Pink Head

D．The Return of“The Garbage Can"

2.The buzzard is called the "flying garbage can" because it __________.

A．is ugly                                B．eats waste and dead animals

C．looks like a garbage can                   D．collect rubbish on the ground

3.The surprising thing about Hinckley's buzzards is that＿.

A．they spend the winter in the south

B．they come very close to the town

C．they return on the same day each year

D．both buzzards and swallows return to Capistrano on March 15

4.At the information stand, visitors to Hinckley's Buzzard Festival can _________.

A．learn some facts about the buzzard

B．easily see a live buzzard

C．take some pictures with the background of live buzzards

D．feed their fill of pancakes and sausages to buzzards

I have a friend who lives by a three-word philosophy: Seize the moment. Just possibly, she may be the wisest woman on this planet. Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too strict to depart from their routine.

I can't count the times I called my sister and said,“How about going to lunch in half an hour?” She would gasp and stammer(结结巴巴地说), “I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday. I had a late breakfast. It looks like rain.”And my personal favorite response:“It's just Monday.”She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

Life has a way of going faster as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises made to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all have to show for our lives is repetition of “I'm going to”,“I plan on” and “Someday, when things are settled down a bit.”

When anyone calls my“seize the moment” friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to, not something on your SHOULD DO list.

1.The example of the writer's sister serves as__________.

A．an argument       B．an introduction     C．a support          D．a conclusion

2.The writer thinks that the underlined excuse “It's just Monday.”is acceptable, because __________.

A．it is still likely that they can have lunch together some time later

B．it sounds most reasonable of all the excuses.

C．it shows respect for the writer's suggestion

D．it indicates the time when they can have lunch together

3.The underlined word “contagious” in the fourth paragraph means “_________”.

A．appropriate        B．influential         C．practical          D．evident

4.What is the purpose of the writer by writing this passage?

A．To suggest how time flies.

B．To persuade busy people to relax.

C．To advise people to keep their promise.

D．To convince readers to be flexible on their schedule for practical joy.

下面短文中共有10个错误, 请找出并按要求在文中标记并改正在短文下的横线上。

如多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（／）划掉, 在短文下边横线上写出该词, 并也用斜线划掉。

如缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）, 在短文下边横线上写出该加的词。

如错一个词：在错的词下划一横线, 在短文下边横线上写出改正后的词。

My grandfather was a teacher. He was the head teacher of a school for boys at the ages of thirteen and eighteen. I know that he was a kind man, because when I am young, he gave me presents, and set me on his knees, and told me stories. And the boys at his school were afraid of him. At school, when he walked into a room full of noise boys, there was silence at once. When he looked at a boy with a certain look in his eye, that boy went red in the face, and looked down his shoes. If a boy brought to him careless work, my grandfather picked up a boy's book and threw it across the room, shouting，“Do it all again, and take it back in the morning！” If the boy was later, or if he forgot to take the work, he had to do it again.

中暑是非常普遍的一种疾病，严重者可以危及生命。请根据图片内容并结合自己所了解的常识，写一篇介绍中暑以及如何对中暑患者进行急救的短文。

参考词汇：中暑heatstroke；抬起elevate；保持呼吸通畅maintain an open airway

You have to be accurate in this job，because a small mistake can make a big ________.

A．difference                            B．difficulty

C．trouble                               D．change

--The weather has been very hot and dry.

--Yes. If it had rained even a drop, things would be much better now! And my   vegetables   .

A．wouldn't die                           B．didn't die

C．hadn't died                            D．wouldn't have died

I won the first prize and you can imagine how excited I was when the Mayor ________ me with the reward.

A．provided                              B．supplied

C．presented                             D．charged

Had I known about this computer program, a huge amount of time and energy       .

A．would have been saved                  B．had been saved

C．will be saved                           D．was saved

Fever is a ________of many illnesses. So I suggest you take it seriously and see a doctor as soon as possible.

A．message                              B．symptom

C．label                                 D．clue

George is going to talk about the geography of his country, but I’d rather he_______ more on its culture.

A．focus             B．focused           C．would focus        D．had focused