2 . It’s hard to turn down a tasty banana. They taste good and you don’t have to wash them before eating them.     1    

One reason for this is climate change. Scientists at the University of Exeter collected data from 27 countries and regions that produce 86% of the world’s bananas. They found that climate has improved growing conditions in 21 of these countries. In the past 60 years, the average-yield (平均产量) has reached 1.37 tons of bananas per hectare (每公顷).

However, if temperatures keep rising, this advantage will disappear. Ten of the countries, including India, the world’s biggest producer of bananas, will produce fewer bananas.     2    

Shouldn’t bananas grow more easily if it’s hotter outside? In fact, the perfect temperature for growing bananas is between 24 and 32C°. If the temperature gets too high, they will stop growing.

    3     Unlike other plants, the bananas we grow come from shoot cuttings (茎段) rather than seeds. This means that all banana plants have the same genotype (基因型). In other words, if a disease is able to kill one plant, it could kill them all.

One serious disease is called Panama. Caused by fungus (真菌) in the soil, it spreads easily.     4     If one banana plantation (种植园) suffers from the disease, it will take 30 years until it is able to grow bananas again. Scientists have yet to find a cure for this disease.

A．It has spread across South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia.

B．Diseases are another danger to bananas.

C．However, British scientists say that the fruit may disappear by 2050.

D．Though green bananas, which are unripe, have an astringent flavor.

E．By 2050, the fruit may die out.

3 . 阅读短文，从方框内所给的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，其中有一个多余的选项。

In ancient China, willow branches (柳枝) were often used as a gift to friends and family members who would leave.     1    

One reason is that willow trees are strong.     2     Because of this special feature, when saying goodbye to loved ones, giving a willow branch is a way to tell them you hope they will easily get used to their new living environment.

Another reason is that, in Chinese, the pronunciation for the willow tree “柳” is similar to the character “留”.     3     However, you may know that they must leave.

    4     At that time, Baqiao, a bridge in Chang’an, today’s Xi’an, was a common place to say goodbye. People often stopped there and handed willow branches to people who were going to depart.

Willow branches, as a symbol of saying goodbye, were often mentioned in poems, especially at the time of the Tang and Song dynasties.

A．It is one of the symbols of Chinese culture.

B．They can live in any soil, wet or dry, north or south.

C．It’s said that this custom became popular during the Han Dynasty.

D．Do you know why willow branches are a symbol of saying goodbye?

E．So giving a willow branch in ancient China was like asking the others to stay.

4 . A young woman took great pride in growing flowers in her yard. Her grandmother had taught her to love and care for flowers, so her yard was full of beautiful flowers.

    1     “I must have it.” she said to herself, and she ordered it. When it arrived, she planted it at the foot of a stone wall at the back of her yard. It grew vigorously, with beautiful green leaves all over it.     2    

One morning, as she stood looking at the plant, she felt disappointed. She wondered why her plant hadn’t bloomed (开花).

However, at this moment, her neighbor invited her to his yard and said. “Thank you so much!     3    ” The young woman walked through the gate into her neighbor’s yard. She saw that on the other side of the wall the plant was full of flowers.

    4     The plant had grown up through the crevices (裂缝) in the wall.

Just because you can’t see the results of your work, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t any fruit.

A．I don’t know where these beautiful flowers have come from.

B．They were, indeed, the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen.

C．One day, she found a flower that she had never seen before in a shop.

D．Day after day, she continued to take care of it, but there were no flowers.

E．You can’t imagine how much I have enjoyed the flowers that you planted.

6 . In the Americas (在美洲), Asia, and Africa there’s a special kind of forest called the cloud forest. Cloud forests can be found in the clouds on the mountains.

Like rainforests, cloud forests experience rainfall (降雨), but they also catch water straight from the air. Water condenses (凝结), you’ll hear the drop of water, even if it’s not raining. The water caught is clear and unpolluted through the ground into rivers.

Some people call cloud forests water towers, because they are so important in providing water for nearby villages and cities. But it’s not just humans who depend on cloud forests. They are also home to a lot of animals and plants.

Cloud forests are very special places. But they face problems. Local poor people clear the forests so that they can grow crops. They also hunt (猎杀) endangered animals for meat, and cut down trees to heat their homes and cook. Farmers convert (改造) the land so that they can grow fruits and coffee beans (咖啡豆).

Once cloud forests are cleared, the harm (伤害) can be irreversible (不可逆转的). Many species (物种) which are important to the ecosystem (生态系统), go away.

Cloud forests are very valuable. With laws to protect them, we might be able to save them before it’s too late.

1. The water of cloud forests comes from _________.

A．the rain

B．the air

C．rivers

D．clouds

2. What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The meanings of cloud forests.	B．The problems of cloud forests.
C．The advantages of cloud forests.	D．The importance of cloud forests.

3. From Paragraph 4, we know _________.

A．people are trying to save the cloud forests

B．people are doing harms to the cloud forests

C．farmers are making better uses of cloud forests

D．farmers are turning the cloud forests into green land

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

A．To ask people to protect cloud forests.	B．To tell people cloud forests are valuable.
C．To make people know more about forests.	D．To encourage people to walk close to nature.

7 . China is a big cotton producer (棉花生产国). Most of the cotton comes from Xinjiang. Cotton needs lots of sun (阳光). Xinjiang is a good place for cotton. It has lots of sun—about 3,000 hours every year.

Xinjiang produces about 80% of China’s cotton. The most welcome cotton in Xinjiang is long-staple cotton (长绒棉). It’s warm and makes people feel nice. It’s good for making clothes and quilts.

Every year from August to October, it’s a good time to pick cotton. But picking cotton isn’t difficult work for farmers. Farmers first fly a plane. Then the plane gives the cotton a kind of water. At last, it’s time to drive a machine (机器). It can “eat up” all the cotton fast!

There are many fun things about cotton. In Chinese, cotton is called “mianhua”. But the cotton is not the flower. It’s the fruit. Most cotton is white. But in Xinjiang, there is cotton in all colors. Cotton candy looks like cotton. But there is no cotton in it!

1. Why is long-staple cotton welcome?

A．Because it comes in many colors.	B．Because farmers pick it by machine.
C．Because it is from Xinjiang.	D．Because it’s warm and makes people feel nice.

2. The underlined word “pick” means ________.

A．出售

B．采摘

C．生产

D．购买

3. Which of the following is TRUE about cotton?

A．It only comes from Xinjiang.	B．It’s a kind of fruit.
C．It’s not easy to pick.	D．People use it to make candy.

4. How many fun things does the last paragraph tell us?

A．Four.

B．Three.

C．Two.

D．One.

8 . 阅读短文，从下面所给的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，其中有 一个多余的选项。

Bamboo is a wonderful plant for many people around the world.     1     People make tables, clothes, medicine, and musical instruments with it. Pandas may eat bamboo every day, but people can also eat it.

    2     Some bamboo grows so quickly that people say they can watch it grow. The speed of growth depends on the type of bamboo, the earth and the season. Normal bamboo grows 3—10 cm a day. It usually grows in tropical (热带的) areas.     3     Bamboo plants are found in Asia, Australia, parts of Africa, and South America.

One of the world’s oldest building materials is bamboo. Like today, people use it because it’s very strong. They used it to build houses, boats, and bridges. The Chinese made a bamboo bridge over the Min River in Sichuan, China almost 1,000 years ago.     4     Also, bamboo is still, used to make houses today especially in China and Philippines.

As a part of history, bamboo is very important. The great scientist Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb (灯泡), but he made it perfect. He wanted the material inside to burn for a long period of time. He tried over 1,000 different types of materials. However none worked very well. One day, he tried to use a piece of bamboo and the light bulb lit up for over a thousand hours. This invention helped other scientists to make the modern light bulb we use today.

A．You can still visit it today.

B．There are over 1,000 uses for it.

C．Bamboo is light because it is empty inside.

D．It can also be found in other parts of the world.

E．The fastest growing plant in the world is bamboo.

9 . 根据短文内容简要回答问题。

A little pine tree (松树) disliked its needles(松针). It said, “I don’t like needles. I want better leaves. I want gold leaves. ”

Night came and the little tree went to sleep. A fairy came by and gave it gold leaves. When the little tree woke up, it had leaves of gold. It said, “Oh, I am so pretty! No other tree has gold leaves.” A man came by. He took all the gold leaves away. The poor little tree cried, “I don’t want gold leaves any more. I want to have glass leaves.”

When the little tree went to sleep, the fairy came again and put the glass leaves on it. “How pretty they look in the sunshine! No other tree is so bright,” the little tree said happily. Then a wind came up. The glass leaves all fell and got broken. Again the little tree had no leaves. It was very sad, and said, “I don’t want gold leaves or glass leaves any more. I want green and flat (平的) leaves like others.”

And the little tree went to sleep. When it woke up, it had green and flat leaves. A sheep came by. He was so hungry that he ate all the leaves. Then the little tree said “I don’t like green and flat leaves, nor glass leaves, nor gold leaves now. I like my needles best.”

So you see, being yourself is very important.

1. Did the little pine tree have needles or pretty leaves?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Who gave gold leaves to the little pine tree?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What happened to the glass leaves at last?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How many kinds of leaves are mentioned in the passage?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What does the story want to tell us?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . When my daughter was in primary school, she brought home four small twigs (嫩枝) from school to plant. None of them looked very strong, but with hope for the future, I planted them somewhere in our backyard that had enough sunlight. Over the years, because of the poor soil, three of them died. Only one was alive.

It grew crooked (弯弯曲曲的) and very slowly. It looked more like a fat bush (灌木丛) than a tree. Later, I noticed that it was starting to die. The lower branches (树枝) were bare. Only the top third of the tree was still green. I did my best to save it by feeding a lot of fertilizer (肥料), but it didn’t work.

Later one morning, I went out and looked at it again. I was wondering whether it would be better to just cut it down. It would make the yard look cleaner. As I walked over to take a closer look at it, however, I noticed something moving within the leaves. It was a robin (知更鸟) patiently building a nest in the topmost branches. I smiled when I looked at it. I thought maybe this old tree was still useful. It might not be healthy or pretty, but it was still giving a bird a home.

This tree reminded me that all of our lives have a purpose. It doesn’t matter if we are young and strong or old and sickly. Until our last breath, we have things to do, love to give, and joy to share. We can help to make this world a better and more beautiful place.

1. Why did the writer plant the small twigs in their backyard?

A．Because the soil was very poor.

B．Because they looked very strong.

C．Because the backyard was full of sunlight.

D．Because their future would be very bright.

2. The underlined word “bare” in Paragraph 2 means “          ”.

A．bright	B．dirty
C．filled with plenty of fruit	D．uncovered with leaves

3. It seems that the writer thought the old tree was          .

A．healthy

B．helpful

C．pretty

D．lovely

4. The writer suggested that we should           .

A．enjoy sharing

B．love receiving

C．try to build our house

D．help to make trees beautiful