B
Have you ever been to the beautiful country of Holland and its capital Amsterdam? Anyone who has traveled to Amsterdam would probably agree on one thing: Amsterdam’s story is a tale of two cities—one during the day and a completely different one at night.
　　During the day, the largest city in Holland sits quietly on the Amstel River. You can rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi. But when the sun goes down, the partying begins. In the big clubs and in coffee shops, tourists gather to hang out, talk politics and smoke.
　　Several areas of the city clearly show the two worlds that rule Amsterdam. And they’re all within a short taxi ride of each other. For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open markets, concerts and other events. Several beautiful and very popular hotels can be found there. And there’s the Royal Palace and the Magna Plaza shopping mall.
But at night party-seekers come to the square. Hip hop or funk music is heard there. So if you come, be ready to dance. The clubs don’t close down until 4 am.
And while you’re there, check out the various inexpensive ways to tour the city. Don’t worry about getting lost. Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdam speak English and are happy to help you with directions. And you’ll notice that half the people in the streets are on bicycles they rent.
　　Amsterdam also has a well-planned canal system. For about 10 dollars, you can use the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise (巡游) the "Venice of the North".
　The city has a historic past. One impressive place to visit is the Anne Frank House on Nine Streets. It was there that the young Jewish girl wrote her famous diary during World War II. Visitors can view Anne’s original diary and climb behind the bookcase to the room where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years.
59. The following means of transport are available to visitors in Amsterdam EXCEPT __________.
A. a carriage.                B. a bicycle.                 C. a canal bus.                     D. a water taxi.
60. When getting lost, a visitor can ask natives for directions in           .
A. only Dutch             B. Dutch or English              C. only English          D. Spanish and English
61. What can you learn about by visiting the Anne Frank House?
A. The happy experience of a girl survivor.     B. The glorious past of Amsterdam.
C. The hard life of the Jewish in World WarⅡ.    D. The hobbies of the Dutch.
62. The passage is intended to           .
A. call up people’s memories of World WarⅡ    
B. tell readers what A Tale of Two Cities is about
C. instruct visitors what to do and see in Holland
D. offer readers some information about Amsterdam

B

Have you ever been to the beautiful country of Holland and its capital Amsterdam? Anyone who has traveled to Amsterdam would probably agree on one thing: Amsterdam’s story is a tale of two cities—one during the day and a completely different one at night.

　　During the day, the largest city in Holland sits quietly on the Amstel River. You can rent a bicycle, visit the Van Gogh or Anne Frank museum, or take a water taxi. But when the sun goes down, the partying begins. In the big clubs and in coffee shops, tourists gather to hang out, talk politics and smoke.

　　Several areas of the city clearly show the two worlds that rule Amsterdam. And they’re all within a short taxi ride of each other. For example, Dam Square attracts daytime sightseers to its festivals, open markets, concerts and other events. Several beautiful and very popular hotels can be found there. And there’s the Royal Palace and the Magna Plaza shopping mall.

But at night party-seekers come to the square. Hip hop or funk music is heard there. So if you come, be ready to dance. The clubs don’t close down until 4 am.

And while you’re there, check out the various inexpensive ways to tour the city. Don’t worry about getting lost. Although Dutch is the official language, most people in Amsterdam speak English and are happy to help you with directions. And you’ll notice that half the people in the streets are on bicycles they rent.

　　Amsterdam also has a well-planned canal system. For about 10 dollars, you can use the canal bus or a water taxi to cruise (巡游) the "Venice of the North".

　The city has a historic past. One impressive place to visit is the Anne Frank House on Nine Streets. It was there that the young Jewish girl wrote her famous diary during World War II. Visitors can view Anne’s original diary and climb behind the bookcase to the room where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years.

59. The following means of transport are available to visitors in Amsterdam EXCEPT __________.

A. a carriage.                B. a bicycle.                 C. a canal bus.                     D. a water taxi.

60. When getting lost, a visitor can ask natives for directions in           .

A. only Dutch             B. Dutch or English              C. only English          D. Spanish and English

61. What can you learn about by visiting the Anne Frank House?

A. The happy experience of a girl survivor.     B. The glorious past of Amsterdam.

C. The hard life of the Jewish in World WarⅡ.    D. The hobbies of the Dutch.

62. The passage is intended to           .

A. call up people’s memories of World WarⅡ    

B. tell readers what A Tale of Two Cities is about

C. instruct visitors what to do and see in Holland

D. offer readers some information about Amsterdam

A new study says that birds living in big cities sing shorter, faster songs that are higher-pitched (高音调的) than those sung by their brothers in the forests. The researchers think that the birds adjust their songs to allow themselves to be heard over the noises of the city, especially the low traffic noise.
To study how urban birds song, Hans Slabbekoorn and Ardie den Bore, biologists at the University of Leiden in Netherlands, travelled around Europe and recorded bird songs in ten major cities and in nearby forests. The species they focused on, the great tit (大山雀), is widespread across Eurasia and one of the few types of birds that thrives in big cities.
Singing is crucial (重要的) for males, which use their songs to attract mates and mark out their territory. The changing songs could play a role in eventually causing the city birds and the forest dwellers to evolve into separate species.
The findings could also help explain why usually only a few bird species thrive in cities. By contrast, many more bird species tend to be found in forests and other undeveloped habitats.
Studies like this could eventually help researchers predict how urbanization (都市化) will affect birds, using this knowledge could help urban planners design more pleasant city environments, study co-author Slabbe-koorn said. “You can make a city much more livable if you pay attention to where the noise goes and where the people go,” he said. “It would be easy to fit the birds into those models.” Then cities wouldn’t be strictly for the people, but also for the birds.
【小题1】 Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Birds Change Songs to Suit Country Life

B．Birds Change Sex to Suit Urban Life

C．Birds Change Living Habits to Suit Urban Life

D．Birds Change Songs to Suit Urban Life

A new study says that birds living in big cities sing shorter, faster songs that are higher-pitched (高音调的) than those sung by their brothers in the forests. The researchers think that the birds adjust their songs to allow themselves to be heard over the noises of the city, especially the low traffic noise.

To study how urban birds song, Hans Slabbekoorn and Ardie den Bore, biologists at the University of Leiden in Netherlands, travelled around Europe and recorded bird songs in ten major cities and in nearby forests. The species they focused on, the great tit (大山雀), is widespread across Eurasia and one of the few types of birds that thrives in big cities.

Singing is crucial (重要的) for males, which use their songs to attract mates and mark out their territory. The changing songs could play a role in eventually causing the city birds and the forest dwellers to evolve into separate species.

The findings could also help explain why usually only a few bird species thrive in cities. By contrast, many more bird species tend to be found in forests and other undeveloped habitats.

Studies like this could eventually help researchers predict how urbanization (都市化) will affect birds, using this knowledge could help urban planners design more pleasant city environments, study co-author Slabbe-koorn said. “You can make a city much more livable if you pay attention to where the noise goes and where the people go,” he said. “It would be easy to fit the birds into those models.” Then cities wouldn’t be strictly for the people, but also for the birds.

1. Which is the best title of the passage?

A. Birds Change Songs to Suit Country Life

B. Birds Change Sex to Suit Urban Life

C. Birds Change Living Habits to Suit Urban Life

D. Birds Change Songs to Suit Urban Life

2. Males usually sing their songs to ____.

A. evolve into another species

B. attract mates and mark out their living area

C. attract city people’s attention and make them supply food

D. allow themselves to be heard over the noises of the city

3. The underlined word “thrives” in the second paragraph means “____”.

A. dies       B. survives       C. suffers     D. travels

4.What is NOT the effect that studies of birds’ songs have?

A. Predicting how course of the city’s expanding will affect birds.

B. Helping the city planners design more pleasant city environments.

C. Making cities more livable for both the birds and people.

D. Driving the urban birds back to the forest.

　　The city of Venice，in  Italy，is one of a kind．It is built on more than 120 islands，just off arrival．After explaining where my new house was，I told him that I had left the key under the doormat．Since I knew it would be quite late before I could get back，I suggested that be make himself at home and help himself to anything that was kept in the refrigerator（冰箱）．

　　Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house．At the moment，he said，he was listening to some of my records after having had a nice meal．He had found the pan and meat in the refrigerator．Now，he was drinking a cup of tea and hoped that I would join him soon．When I asked him if he bad any difficulty finding the house，he answered that the only problem  was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat，but luckily，the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and  he had climbed in through the window．I listened to all this in great surprise．There is no apple tree outside my window，but there is one by the living room window of my next-door  neighbor’s house！

　　46．When my friend arrived，I could not go to meet him because________．

　　A．we were not good friends         B．I was busy at work

　　C．he had not told me that he would come   D．I did not want to see him

　　47．A doormat is a mat______．

　　A．used as a door        B．for cleaning the bottom of shoes

C. put up on a door as an ornament（装饰物）

  D．near a door under which people put their keys

　　48．I listened to my friend’s phone call in great surprise because____．

　　A．he had not waited for me to eat together

　　B．he had eaten too much of the food

　　C．he mistook my neighbor’s house for mine

　　D．he had left the house with the window open

　　49．At last my friend______．

　　A．did not enter my house

　　B．entered my house after he opened the door

　　C．entered my house by climbing through the window

　　D．entered my house with the help of my neighbor

　　50．The writer left the key under the doormat so that______．

　　A．nobody would find it

　　B．he might not lose it

　　C．his family could use the same key

D．his friend could easily get it