Do your spirits soar (猛增) on a sunny day? Do you relax at the sound of flowing water?

Some scientists suggest that these contacts with nature are good for your health. In one study, hospital patients with a view of trees had shorter hospital stays and less need for pain medications. Another study indicated that prisoners with a view of the outdoors had fewer doctor visits.

“Why do we desire nature? Maybe we’re programmed to need it, since our ancestors’ survival was so dependent on their connection with nature,” suggests biologist E.O. Wilson.

Want to find out if contact with nature improves your outlook on life? Try a few of these ideas.

Hang out a bird feeder and watch the birds that visit it.

Sit down in the backyard or a nearby park. Close your eyes. What do you hear? Birds singing? The wind in the trees? Crickets (蟋蟀) chirping?

Find an anthill. Sit down and watch the ants work.

Take a walk right after a rainstorm. What looks different? Smells different?

Go barefoot on a sandy beach.

Open the curtains and the window, if the weather allows it.

On a windy day, watch the trees.

Go to a creek, river or park fountain. Listen to the sound of water in motion.

Camp out in the backyard or at a nearby state park. Use a tent or sleep on the ground.

Find a wide-open space to study the stars. Learn about the different constellations (星座).

Raise a garden. Or plant some seeds in a flowerpot.

Go hiking with your family. Talk about all of the colors you see in nature.

Take a camera and capture your nature experience.

1.From Paragraph 2 we can learn that ______.

2.According to E.O. Wilson, we desire nature probably because ______.

3.The author gives us many ideas in order to let us ______.

4.From the passage, we can learn that ______.

5.What is the best title of the passage?

Today, in many high schools, teaching is now a technical miracle of computer labs, digital cameras.  DVD players and laptops. Teachers can e-mail parents, post messages for students on online bulletin(公告，告示) boards, and take attendance with a quick movement of a mouse.

Even though we are now living in the digital age, the basic and most important element of education has not changed. Most students still need that one-on-one, teacher-student relationship to learn and to succeed. Teenagers need instruction in English, math or history, but they also want personal advice and encouragement. Kids talk with me about their families, their weekend plans, their favorite TV shows and their relationship problems. In my English and journalism class, we talk about Shakespeare and persuasive(富有哲理的) essays, but we also discuss college basketball, the war in Iraq and career choices. Students show me pictures of their rebuilt cars, their family vacations, and their newborn baby brothers. This personal connection is the necessary link between teachers and students that no amount of technology can improve upon or replace.

A few years ago I had a student in sophomore English who was struggling with my class and with school in general. Although he was a humorous young man who liked to joke around, I knew his family life was far from ideal. Whenever I approached him about missing homework or low test grades, he always had the same reply: “It doesn’t matter because I’m quitting school anyway.” Even though he always said this in a half-teasing way, I knew he needed to hear my different opinion and my “value of a high school education” lecture. He needed to hear this speech from me. After he left my class, he struggled through the next two years of school. But, he did finally graduate because we kept telling him to hang in there. We’d cared about him finishing school.

Recently, I saw this former student working at a local Italian restaurant. I told him again how proud I was of him. He said that he was hoping to go back to school to become a certified electrician. I encouraged him to get that training.

Students rely on compassionate teachers to guide, to tutor, to listen, to laugh and to cry with them. Teachers provide the most important link in the educational process — the human one.

The first paragraph mainly discusses _______.

    A．the variety of modern teaching methods

    B．the wide use of modern technology in education

    C．the importance of teacher-parent relationship

    D．the importance of using modern technology

The underlined word “compassionate” in Para 5 means          .

    A．ambitious    B．knowledgeable    C．sympathetic  D．generous

According to the text, the most important element in education is         .

    A．teacher’s good instruction  B．advanced technology

    C．teachers’ encouragement D．personal connection

The author states his view of education by         .

    A．example  B．description  C．figure   D．comparison

（二）
A
How Do Animals Catch Their ZZZ’s?
Different creatures have developed some pretty creative ways to get their rest and stay safe. The lizard（蜥蝎）likes to sleep at the far end of small branches hanging out over a pond or lake in the rain forest. If a snake tries to slither up the branch to eat it ,it will shake the branch and knock the lizard off ,and the lizard will fall safely into the water. Chameleons can change color to match their surroundings in order to hide even while sleeping.
Corillas（大猩猩）like to sleep high in the trees. They build a new bed every night, sometimes taking up to half an hour to pile branches ,twigs ,and leaves into a comfortable bed .Birds also find it safe to sleep in the trees, but unless they have eggs or young chicks ,they don’t use a nest .They just lock their feet around a branch and hang on .A special tendon（腱）in their legs in automatically tight when they are at rest ,so they won’t let go and fall.
Dolphins live underwater ,but must come to the surface to breather .Scientists now believe that dolphins may sleep with only half their brain, while the other half stays awake to keep them safe and breathing. Seals also do this ,lying on their sides on the surface of the water with one flipper underwater paddling to keep their noses above the surface. Some ducks may also have this ability, and actually sleep with one eye closed and one eye open.                          
56．How many animals are mentioned in this passage?
A．6.                       B．7.                       C．8.                       D．9.
57．How does a chameleon protect itself while sleeping?
A．By changing its body colors.                 B．By hinging out over a pond.
C．By sleeping with half their brain.          D．By making beds with branches.
58．Why will not birds fall when they are at rest?
A．They build nests and sleep in them.       B．They fall asleep automatically.
C．They have a loose tendon in their legs.   D．They lock their feet around a branch.
59．What does the writer intend to tell us?
A．The cleverest animal is the gorilla because it can make beds.
B．Differences in habitat could lead to different living habits.
C．The ways animals catch their ZZZ’s are pretty much he same .
D．In order to protect themselves most animals choose not to sleep.

Today, in many high schools, teaching is now a technical miracle of computer labs, digital cameras, DVD players and laptops. Teachers can e-mail parents, post messages for students on online bulletin(公告，告示) boards, and take attendance with a quick movement of a mouse.

Even though we are now living in the digital age, the basic and most important element of education has not changed. Most students still need that one-on-one, teacher-student relationship to learn and to succeed. Teenagers need instruction in English, math or history, but they also want personal advice and encouragement. Kids talk with me about their families, their weekend plans, their favorite TV shows and their relationship problems. In my English and journalism classes, we talk about Shakespeare and persuasive(富有哲理的) essays, but we also discuss college basketball, the war in Iraq and career choices. Students show me pictures of their rebuilt cars, their family vacations, and their newborn baby brothers. This personal connection is the necessary link between teachers and students that no amount of technology can improve upon or replace.

A few years ago I had a student in sophomore English who was struggling with my class and with school in general. Although he was a humorous young man who liked to joke around, I knew his family life was far from ideal. Whenever I approached him about missing homework or low test grades, he always had the same reply, “It doesn't matter because I'm quitting school anyway.” Even though he always said this in a half-teasing way, I knew he needed to hear my different opinion and my “value of a high school education” lecture. He needed to hear this speech from me. After he left my class, he struggled through the next two years of school. But, he did finally graduate because we kept telling him to hang in there. We’d cared about him finishing school.

Recently, I saw this former student working at a local Italian restaurant. I told him again how proud I was of him. He said that he was hoping to go back to school to become a certified electrician. I encouraged him to get that training.

Students rely on compassionate teachers to guide, to tutor, to listen, to laugh and to cry with them. Teachers provide the most important link in the educational process—the human one.

1.The first paragraph mainly talks about _____________.

  A. the variety of modern teaching methods.

  B. the wide use of modern technology in education

  C. the importance of teacher-parent relationship.

  D. the importance of using modern technology.

2.The underlined word “ compassionate” in Para 5 means ____________.

  A. ambitious       B. knowledgeable     C. sympathetic       D. generous

3. According to the text, the most important element in education is _________.

  A. teachers’ good instruction       B. advanced technology

  C. teachers’ encouragement        D. personal connection

4.The author states his view of education by __________.

  A. example     B. description     C. figure       D. comparison

Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 45–48．
root1 /ru:t/ n [C]
1 ?PLANT? the part of a plant or tree that grows under the ground and gets water form the soil: Be careful not to damage the roots when repotting．| tree roots —see picture at germinate
2 ?CAUSE OF A PROBLEM? the main cause of a problem: Money is the root of all evil．| be/lie at the root of （="be" the cause of a problem） Often allergies are at the root of a lot of the problems．| get to the root of （="find" out the cause of a problem） | root cause （="the" main reason for a problem）
3 ?OF A CUSTOM/TRADITION? roots the origins of a custom or tradition that has continued for a long time: has its roots in Jazz has its roots in the folk songs of the southern states of the US．
4 ?OF AN IDEA/BELIEF? the main part of an idea or belief which all the other parts come from: be/lie at the root of Foucault is challenging the very root of 20th century liberalism．
5 ?FAMILY CONNECTION? sb’s roots your con- nection with a place because you were born there, or your family used to live there: Naita has come to Ghana in search of her roots．
6 put down roots if you put down roots somewhere, you start to feel that this place is your home and to have relationships with the people there
7 ?TOOTH/HAIR ETC? the part of a tooth, hair etc that fixes it to the rest of your body
8 take root a） if an idea takes root, people begin to accept or believe it: The concepts of democracy and free trade are finally beginning to take root．b） if a plant takes root, it starts to grow where you have planted it
9 have a （good） root round informal especially BrE to search for something by moving other things around
10 root and branch if you destroy something root and branch, you get rid of it completely and permanently because it is bad
11 ?LANGUAGE? technical the basic part of a word which shows its main meaning, to which other parts can be added: The suffix ‘ness’ can be added to the root ‘cold’ to form the word ‘coldness’．—compare stem1 （4）
12 ?MATHEMATICS? technical a number that when multiplied by itself a certain number of times, equals the number that you have: 2 is the fourth root of 16．
—see also cube root, square root, grass roots
root2 v
1 ?SEARCH? [I always + adv/prep] to search for something by moving things around: [+ through/in/ around] “Hang on a second,” said Leila, rooting through her handbag for a pen．| [+ for] pigs rooting for food
2 ?PLANT? a） [I] to grow roots: New shrubs will root easily in summer．b） [T usually passive] to fix a plant firmly by its roots: The bush was too firmly rooted in the hard earth to dig up easily．| root itself Clumps of thyme had rooted themselves between the rocks．—see also deeply rooted （deeply （5））
3 be rooted in to have developed from something and be strongly influenced by it: policies that are rooted in Marxist economic theory
4 be rooted to the spot to be so shocked, surprised, or frightened that you cannot move
root for sb phr v [T] informal 1 to give support and encouragement to someone in a competition, test or difficult situation, because you want them to succeed: Good luck – we’ll all be rooting for you! 2 especially AmE to support a sports team or player by shouting and cheering: We’ll all be rooting for the Dallas Cowboys in the Superbowl．
root sth ? out phr v [T] 1 to find out where a particular kind of problem exists and get rid of it: Racism cannot be rooted out without strong government action．2 informal to find something by searching for it: I’ll try and root out something suitable for you to wear．
root sth ? up phr v [T] to dig or pull a plant up with its roots
1．What’s meaning of the word “roots” in the sentence “Many Americans have roots in Europe．”?
A．The underground part of a plant．    B．One’s connection with a place．
C．The origins of a custom or tradition．   D．The main cause of a problem．
2．What’s the fourth root of 81?
A．27． B．9．   C．6．   D．3．
3．Which phrase can complete the sentence “Do you think it is possible to ____ crime?”
A．root for           B．root out           C．root up            D．root through
4．In which of the following situations can we use the phrase “be rooted to the spot”?
A．A bush is so firmly rooted in the ground that it is difficult to pull it up．
B．A football fan got excited when his favorite football team scored a goal．
C．A girl became too scared to walk when she caught sight of a long snake．
D．A man is unable to walk because he was caught in a car accident years ago．