If you want to learn something about birds please read the book“1001 Questions Answered About Birds”． But which chapter or part of the book you’d better read depends on what you are interested in． If you are interested in how many kinds of birds there are, please read The Classification of Birds． If you want to know something about where some kinds exist, where other kinds exist and the spreading out of birds’ existing, do read The Distribution of Birds． Leaving one place for another is called migration． “Internal”refers to the inside while “external”refers to the outside． If you catch a bird and put a mark on it before setting it free, it is bird banding． People make and put boxes in trees for birds to stay in certain woods, which is bird attracting． To protect birds from being harmed is called bird conservation． Stories about unknown secrets are mythology while old and general accepted ways are called tradition． To study how birds get used to their surroundings is to study their adaptability．

　　Now you can answer the following questions after reading the Table of Contents of the book “ 1001, Questions Answered About Birds．”

Chapter I． The Classification of Birds

Chapter II． The Distribution of Birds

Chapter III． Birds Flight

Chapter IV． The Migration of Birds

Chapter V． The Internal Birds

Chapter VI The Exterior of Birds

Chapter VII． The Senses of Birds

Chapter VIII． The Life Cycle of Birds

Chapter IX． The Size of Birds

Chapter X．　　Numbers of Birds

Chapter XI．　　Birdbanding

Chapter XII． Birdwatching

Chapter XIII． Attracting Birds to the Garden

Chapter XIV． Bird Conservation

Chapter XV． Birds in Mythology, Tradition and History

Chapter XVI． Adaptability of Birds

Chapter XVII． Birds Books for a Home Library

1． Which chapter of the book is likely to have information on how far birds can fly?

A． Chapter V．　　B． Chapter III． C． Chapter XIV． D． Chapter VIII．

2． You are curious about and want to know how far birds can see． Which chapter of the book would you read?

A． Chapter XI． B． Chapter V．　　C． Chapter VI．　　 D． Chapter VII．

3． In which chapter would the author or writer be likely to give you information about the seasonal flight of birds like wild geese (大雁 )?

A． Chapter II． B． Chapter III．　　C． Chapter IV．　　D． Chapter VIII．

4． Which chapter would you read if you are to write about the courtship and mating or “marrying” of birds ?

A． Chapter XIII． B． Chapter VIII． C． Chapter VII． D． Chapter V

5． If you want to know how birds are endangered or in danger and how they should be protected, which chapter would you refer to ?

　　We speak of the balance of nature． Biologists talk about biotic pyramids and the web of life． Both are referring to the same phenomenon or existing fact : the many complex ( 复杂的）relationships among organisms and their environment or surroundings．

　　The pyramid is the biologist’s attempt and try to sketch and describe the energy relationships in nature． You could call it a catalogue or describing record of who eats whom． The land forms the base of the pyramid, and upon it rests a layer or covering or a thickness of plants． Insects such as ants and worms, and herbivores or plant-eating animals, then birds and rodents such as rats and mice, and finally, at the top of the pyramid, the large carnivores or flesh-eating animals, and predatory birds which hunt and eat other animals． Organisms at each level of the pyramid exist by eating those in the layers below, and so are dependent for their survival on the existence of the members of the lower layers．

　　From the base of the pyramid to the top, populations of organisms decrease． There are always, for example, fewer hawks than gophers, a kind of rats, their prey, and always fewer insects than the plants they eat． But most species of organisms exist on more than one kind of food;each organism forms only one link or ring in a chain of energy transfer or change． These pathways by which energy is cycled through organisms are called food chains． The relationships between organisms form a complex network through which energy from the soil is passed into living things and then, through death and decay or rotting, is returned to the soil． Some energy is always lost in the process or course, and is continually replaced or take the place of by energy from the air and sun through plants, during the process of photosynthesis． But in spite of these gains and losses, the total system does not change much unless interfered with, by man or if man is not in the way． This system is the web of life, a tangle of' food chains, so complicated that we do not yet understand all its workings．

　　But man's interference has changed many of the relationships． For example, the food chain formed by the soil, bunch-grass, deer, and cougar has been changed to the chain: soil, alfalfa, cow, farmer． Will such changes have serious effects or influence upon the existence of other organisms forming part of the web? If so, what will these effects be, and will they be good or bad? Can we change the web of life without losing something of value in the process? These are some of the questions which the ecologist tries to answer．

　　Our understanding of the energy relationships in nature is still very limited, but what we have learned so far tells us clearly that when we change the web of life, we run the risk of or we are in danger of losing something which cannot be replaced．

　　The following story is a true one, and is happening in British Columbia today． It is a dramatic illustration of the energy relationships between organisms, and of the effect man’s intervention has had on the web of life．

1．What is the passage mainly about?

A．Organisms and life．

B．Energy and the balance of nature．

C．A catalogue of who eats whom．

D．Biotic pyramids, webs of life and food chains．

2．The word organisms refers to 　　　　　　 ．

A．life B． energy C． attempt D． relationships

3．A grasshopper is 　　　　　　　　 ．

A．an insect B． a herbivore　　C． a rodent D． a carnivore

4．Vegetation is 　　　　　　　　 ．

A．birds B． animals　　C． plants D． organisms

5．Look at the picture below． How many food chains can you find in it?

A．2 ． B． 4．　　C． 5． D． 6．

6．The _____is a rodent like a ______．

A．weasel, frog　　B． grasshopper, rabbit C． frog, rat D． rabbit, mouse

7．If we change the picture of the passage into a pyramid, the _____ is at the top, the ____ at the second layer and the ______ is at the 3rd layer while _____are at the base．

A．hawk, weasel, mouse, plants

B．hawk, grasshopper, rabbit, mice

C．grasshopper , weasel, rabbit , plants

D．hawk, plants, grasshopper, rabbits

8．The population of grasshoppers is always _____ that of frogs．

A．smaller than B． greater than C． the same as D． different from

9．According to the passage, which of the following sayings is true?

A．Food chains are a death and decay process．

B．Photosynthesis is an energy losing process．

C．Each kind of living thing eats only one kind of food．

D．Most kinds of living thing live on more than one kind of organism．

10．What is the passage following this passage most probably about? It is about ______．

A．British Columbia

B．a dramatic illustration

C．man’s influence on the web of life in a certain place

D．the energy relationships between organisms and man’s influence on the web of life

　　CBC is a famous air company which has over twenty planes carrying passengers and goods, flying along 12 fixed lines all over the world． Its service is very good but some passengers are still not satisfied with it and that is why in 1996 and 1997 the company received letters of complaints from consumers or passengers who pointed out over a dozen kinds of problems which are divided in groups in the following table． This division is called Category． Problems that appear when the plane is flying are Flight problems． Those about passengers’ things carried by the plane are Baggage problems． Customer service refers to service work which passengers are not satisfied with． Over sales of seats are about the fact that more seats are sold and as a result the plane is too crowded to be safe． Refund problems appear when passengers fail to receive the money paid (back) to them because of what they have lost or because of any other reasons． Fares are problems about the price of tickets． Reservations are problems that appear when passengers could not get the tickets they have already booked． Tours are problems about the passengers’ traveling by air or hotel problems． Advertising is what the passenger think about advertisements on the plane． Credit problems are about the use of credit cards（信用卡）．

1．About how many complaints concerning or about Credit were received by the CBC in 1996?

A．133．　　 B． 220．　　C． 230．　　D． 1,220

2．By about what percent did the total number of complaints decrease from 1996 to l997? (decrease = reduce)

A． 40%．　　B．60%．　　C． 75%．　　D．100%．

3．If the categories, except“Other”, are placed in the order of percent of complaints from greatest to least, for how many of the categories would the place change from 1996 to 1997?

A．Three． B． Four． C． Six．　　 D． Seven．

4．If the circle graphs below show total consumer complaints for 1996, which graph shows a park part that is about Flight problems and Refund problems together ?

5．Which of the following statements or sayings can be inferred from the table?

I．In 1996 and in 1997, complaints about Flight problems, Baggage, and Customer service together took more than 50 percent of all consumer complaints received by the CBC Company．

II．The number of Special passenger complaints was unchanged from 1996 to 1997．

III．From 1996 to 1997 the number of Flight problem complaints increased by more than two percent．

A．I only． B． II only． C． 1 and II only． D． I and III only．

　　Every fall or every autumn Richmond College enrolls or allows a certain number of students to come and study, which is called Total Student Enrollment． And every year a large amount of money is given to the college, which is called contributions． How the college spends all the given money is called Allocation of All Contributions． The part of money spent on the management of the college to improve its teaching and work is called Capital Improvements． The part of given money spent on those best students who are in need of money help is called Scholarships． And the part of money spent on the operation or management of the college is called Operational Expenses． Study the two graphs carefully and answer the five questions below them:

1．What was the total number of students enrolled at Richmond College in the fall of 1996?

A．200．　　 B．250．　　 C．700．　　 D．750．

2．By what percent did the number of part-time students enrolled increase from the fall of 1996 to the fall of 1997?

A．7%．　　 B． 42%．　　C．66¾ ．%　　D． 75%．

3．What was the increase , if any , in the number of full-time students enrolled at Richmond College from the fall of 1993 to the fall of 1994 ?

A．0．　　 B． 50．　　 C．100．　　 D．150．

4．In the 1995-1996 school year , if 12 percent of the amount of contributions given to scholarships and operational expenses was given to heating costs, about how much was NOT given to heating costs?

A．$2,000　　B． $25,000　　C． $176,000　　D． $205,000

5 ．About what was the total amount of contributions to Richmond College from the 1995-1996 school year through the 1997-1998 school year ?

A．$967,000　　B． $1,000,000　　C．$9,000,000　　D． $9,667,000

　　There is a definite (肯定的) possibility that the climate (气候) of the world may be changing． Some scientists imagine that this could even mean the beginning of another ice age． The effects (作用) of such a change in climate on the human population of the world would be startling (惊人的)．

　　Recent research suggests that the general warming trend ( 变暖总趋势) of the past hundred years or so may be coming to an end． During the past ten years, meteorologists tell us, the average (平均的) temperature of the earth has dropped about one degree Fahrenheit (华氏)． This does not seem like much, but it could have effects on． wind and rain patterns which influence (影响) the overall weather picture． If these patterns change a lot, it could mean that certain regions of the world may continue to have long droughts while others will possibly suffer from widespread flooding．

　　What regulates ( 调节) the climate is not exactly known ． Meteorologists believe that clouds may be an important factor in regulating the amount of solar (太阳的) heat held by the earth, which in turn determines the temperature of the planet． Another possibility is that man's industrial and agricultural methods may be affecting the natural weather patterns． However, the weather is not understood well enough for scientists to say for certain what is happening to the climate and what side effects this will actually have on the world's population．

1．According to the text, the climate of the world seems to

A．be getting colder．

B．be getting warmer．

C．remain the same in the past ten years．

D．have good effects on the world's population．

2．A meteorologist is a person who

A．reads weather forecasts on radio or television．

B．studies and knows about the weather．

C．thinks there will be another ice age．

D．believes there will be widespread flooding．

3．Which of the following may be factors that affect the natural weather patterns?

A．Clouds．

B．The amount of heat the earth receives．

C．Man's industrial and agricultural methods．

D．All of the above．

4．A best title for the text would be

A．Droughts and Floods． C． Changing Climate．

B．Meteorologists．　　　　D Solar Heat．

　　Dyson fixed the little box on Eva’s head． “It”s a very clever machine”, he said． “When a person tells a lie, this needle here moves round． The numbers 0 to 20 show the size of the lie． Now, tell me a few good lies．”

　　Eva laughed． “What about? I never tell lies!”

　　The needle moved from zero to 4． “You’ve just told one,” Dyson said． “A group 4 lie ---- small and uninteresting． Tell me a big, exciting lie．”

　　“You’ve got an ugly face, Tom Dyson．”

　　The needle fell back to zero． “No lie,” Dyson said． “So my mother was right, then． She always said I was an ugly child． But this isn’t a joke, Eva． The police use machines like this． Suppose a man kills somebody but says, “No ! No! I didn’t kill anybody．” Now that’s an excellent lie． It would send the needle round to 20． Think of a fat lie, like that----”

　　“I hate you, Tom Dyson!” Eva cried ． “Oh, how I HATE you! Is that lie big enough?”

　　Dyson was staring at the needle． “Funny,” he said． “ It seems to be stuck at 20． There must be something wrong with it． “He picked up the machine and shook it． The needle stayed at 20． “No good,” he said． “It’s never been wrong before． Eva, have you —? “He stared at HER then． He didn’t understand the look on her face ．

1．Tom had a little machine that could

A．report the number of lies one told．

B．show lies to be interesting or dull．

C．separate jokes from lies．

D．put lies into 20 groups．

2．The number 0 in the machine shows that somebody has told

A．the truth．

B．a small lie．

C．a good lie．

D．an excellent lie．

3．Was Tom ugly?

A．The machine showed that he was．

B．The machine showed that he wasn’t．

C．Yes, because the needle didn’t move．

D．No, because Eva was only joking．

4．A fat lie in the text means

A．a lie that is told to the police．

B．a remark that sends the needle to 20．

C．a remark that makes one feel excited．

D．a lie that makes one feel puzzled．

5．When the needle stayed at 20, Tom thought that

A．the machine must be telling a lie．

B．the machine must have made a mistake．

C．Eva must be in love with him．

D．Eva must be making fun of him．

　　It doesn’t matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That’s what all doctors thought ,until they heard about Al Herpin. Al Herpin ,it was said, never slept. Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.

　　Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jerset. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.

　　The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They asked him many questions, hoping to find an answer. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason? No one could be sure.

　　Herpin died at the age of 94.

1．The main idea of this passage is that ________.

[　　]

A．large numbers of people do not need sleep

B．a person who actually didn’t need any sleep was found

C．everyone needs some sleep to stay alive

D．people can live longer by trying not to sleep

2．The doctors came to visit Herpin, expecting ________.

[　　]

A．to cure him of his sleeplessness

B．to find that his sleeplessness was not really true

C．to find out why some old people didn’t need any sleep

D．to find a way to free people from the need of sleeping

3．After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin ________.

[　　]

A．needed some kind of sleep

B．was too old to need any sleep

C．needed no sleep at all

D．often slept in a chair

4．One reason that might explain Herpin’s sleeplessness was ________.

[　　]

A．his mother’s injury before he was born

B．that he had gradually got rid of the sleeping habit

C．his magnificent physical condition

D．that he hadn’t got a bed

5．Al Herpin’s condition could be regarded as ________.

[　　]

A．a common one

B．one that could be cured

C．very healthy

D．a rare one

　　Daphne asked Jim, a friend of Walter's, for some extra help on her political science homework. On Friday, they agreed to meet at his dormitory study room at 8 Sunday night. It was 8∶05 when Jim arrived. He wasn't on time as he usually is, because he had been out enjoying the spring weather after eating at McDonald's. But he wasn't worried, because he knew from Walter that Daphne was usually late. When Daphne hadn't arrived by 8∶25, Jim was a little surprised. He decided to go to the dorm lounge(休息室) and watch his favorite Sunday night TV show. It started at 8∶30, so he had to hurry. When he got to the lounge, Walter was just leaving. “Hey, Jim, your favorite TV show just finished. Where were you? It was fantastic!”

　　“What do you mean, Walter? It's 8∶30, so I'm just in time to watch it!” Jim replied, looking a little confused.

　　 “Didn't you change your watch last night?” Walter asked. Then he explained, “Last night you were supposed to move your watch ahead one hour. We do this every year on the last Sunday in April. Then, on the last Sunday in October, everyone moves clock back an hour. We say‘spring ahead, fall back ’to help us remember which way to change our clocks.” Walter stopped to see if Jim had understood his explanation. “You don't do that in Indiana, I guess.”

　　“No, we don't,” Jim said, shaking his head. “In that case, I was over an hour late for my appointment with Daphne, not only five minutes late. Wow! She'll never let me forget this!”

1．What is the important idea of this story?

[　　]

A．Daphne is usually late.

B．there are no time changes in Indiana.

C．Jim likes his favorite Sunday night TV show.

D．Jim was late because he didn't know about the time changes.

2．Why did Jim look confused when he learned the TV show had just finished?

[　　]

A．Because he missed the fantastic TV show.

B．Because he thought he was just in time to watch his favorite TV show.

C．Because he was late for the show.

D．Because he forgot the time of the show.

3． All the citizens in the United States are supposed to move their watches ahead in spring and back in fall.

[　　]

A．Certainly they are.

B．No, they are not.

C．No, those who live in Indiana do not do that.

D．Certainly they are besides those living in Indiana.

4． How did Jim feel after Walter told him about the time changes?

[　　]

A．He felt very upset that he hadn't kept his appointment with Daphne.

B．He looked confused about the time changes.

C．He was surprised that Daphne was over an hour late.

D．He felt very glad that he didn't miss his favorite TV show.

5．Imagine you are going to a party at 2 p.m. of the last Sunday in April. If you forget about the time change, what time will you arrive?

[　　]

阅读理解

　　HUMANS have spent years exploring space, but how much do we know about deep inside the planet on which we live? The idea of exploring the earth's core (地核)was detailed in an article called“Modest Proposal (建议)”. It was written in May by American scientist David Stevenson. It is similar idea to an American sci-fi movie that was released in March, The Core.

　　So, because they deal with the same topic, it wouldn't be too strange to compare a scientific report with a sci-fi movie.

　　Why explore

　　The report: The solid inner core of the earth is fluid(不固定的)and responsible for the earth's magnetic field (磁场). * Scientists don't know exactly why all this is so, nor do they know the exact make-up or temperature of the core. *

　　The movie: An unknown force has caused the earth's inner core to stop rotating (旋转). With the planet's magnetic field rapidly decreasing, our atmosphere starts to come apart.

　　The result is deadly: birds lose their ability to fly in the right direction and the earth eventually (最终)becomes like a microwave oven (微波炉), cooked by the sun.

　　How explore

　　The report: A nuclear explosion (核爆炸)would be the best way to create a hole big enough to enter the earth. The crack (裂缝)needs to be as long and as deep as several football fields, but only about 30era wide. * The event would be as powerful as an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter Scale (里氏震级).*

　　At least 100,000 tons of hot iron would be poured into the crack, along with a metal probe (探测器)the size of a grapefruit (柚子).

The weight of the iron, which is much denser than earth' s outer regions, would open a gap all the way to the planet core, about 3,000kin below. The probe would fall at about 16kin per hour as the crack doses up behind it. * Stevenson said the amount of iron needed is equal to what' s produced in factories around the world in a week. *

　　The movie: Send a manned vehicle that looks like a windowless subway (地铁)train into the earth's core. Virgil, the ship, is made of a metal that can stand the extreme temperature and pressure found in the core.

　　Virgil began its journey when it was dropped in the middle of the ocean because this is where the crust (地壳)is thinnest.

　　What to do

　　The report: The weeks-long mission would measure the temperature and chemical composition (make-up)of the core.

　　The movie: Blow up five 200-megaton (兆吨)nuclear bombs to restart the core.

Choose the best choice according to the story________.

(1)What do the report and the movie have in common?

[　　]

A．Both deal with exploring space.

B．Both deal with going deep to the inside of the earth.

C．Both offer the same reason to explore the earth's core.

D．Both consider it possible for the core to stop rata- ring.

(2)In the movie, a nuclear explosion would ________.

[　　]

A．help man enter the earth

B．create a big crack that leads to the earth's core

C．produce hot iron

D．make the earth's core work again

(3)How long would it take the probe to reach the core according to the report? ________.

[　　]

(4)What does the underlined word“stand”mean? ________

[　　]

(5)We can infer from the passage that the core________.

[　　]

A．is in the danger of stopping rotating

B．still has a lot for us to explore

C．controls the birds' sense of directions

D．might blow up

阅读理解

Dear editor，

　　You can find language pollution whenever you open a newspaper or turn on your TV set, listen to a popular song or look at various advertisements.

　　Language pollution exists almost everywhere and can especially be seen in the following places.

　　1.Chinese characters written in the complex form. Although simplified Chinese characters were accepted for use many years ago, it seems that more and more people like Chinese characters written in the complex form.

　　2.Many good are produced in China but carry foreign names, which sound strange and have no meaning at all.

　　3.Words of expressions being used have a bad meaning.“Ba（霸）, which means bully in Chinese, is one example. Now there are lots of goods, restaurants, even factories or firms, with“ba”in their names.

　　4.Too many incorrect grammatical expressions. Some films have strange names and incorrect grammatical structure.“Ai ni mei shang liang”, which means love you without consulting, is grammatically incorrect and this kind of expression is now becoming popular.

　　Some language experts point out that language pollution must be done away with, which is an idea shared by myself and many others.

Fan Yongqian, Shanxi

（1）The writer of the letter suggests that _______ .

[　　]

A. something be done to make our language pure

B. the Chinese language not have the word“ba”

C. everything has a good name, which sounds nice and has a good meaning

D. everybody tries his best to stop pollution

（2）What the writer of the letter wants to say is that _______ .

[　　]

A. great difference exits between the Chinese characters written in the complex form and simplified Chinese characters

B. our newspapers, TV programmes, pop songs and advertisements are getting polluted

C. many agree with some language experts on pollution of the Chinese language

D. some film writers haven't studied grammar

（3）The expression“done away with”in the last paragraph means _______ .

[　　]

（4）What do you guess Fan Yongqian is?

[　　]

A. He's probably a language expert.

B. He's probably a singer of pop songs.

C. He's probably a reader.

D. He's probably a grammarian.

（5）Choose the best title for the passage.

[　　]

A. More Attention to Grammar

B. Pollution of Our Language

C. Follow Experts' Advice

D. Films and Goods with Strange Names