【推荐1】Fish cats are a kind of cats that love water and love to fish. They are like tigers and lions, only much smaller, around twice the size of our average pet cats. They live in wetlands of South Asia and mangrove forests （红树林）of South and Southeast Asia. Like many endangered species, fish cats were in danger of dying out more than twenty years ago, mainly because of the great international need for fish food and the people's cutting of the mangroves at an extremely fast speed.

Mangroves of Southeast Asia are home to a great many fantastic species, like fish cats, turtles, shorebirds and others. Mangroves can protect soil, and they can be the first line of protection between storms, tsunamis and the millions of people who live next to them. The fact is that mangroves can store almost five to ten times more CO2 than other forests. So protecting mangroves may well be like protecting five to ten times more of other forests.

Ten years ago, in South India, many people came together to change the future of their home. In less than 10 years, with international support, the state forest departments and the local people worked together to restore over 20,000 acres of unproductive fish and shrimp farms back into mangroves. Now experts are working with them in helping study and protecting the mangroves as well as the species living in them. Fish and shrimp farmers are now willing to work with experts to test the harvest of nature protection like fishes, turtles and other species in mangroves. The local farmers are encouraged to protect and plant mangroves where they have been lost. A win-win-win for fish cats, local people and the global ecosystem（生态系统）is being built.

1. What made the fish cats endangered?

A．Natural enemies and environment pollution.

B．Cutting of mangroves and lack of water.

C．Being too large and need for fish food.

D．Less fish and overcutting of mangroves.

2. Why are mangroves so important?

A．They can prevent extreme weather.

B．They can take in more CO2 effectively.

C．They help plants grow better on the soil.

D．They are perfect home to all species.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Ways of turning farms into forests.

B．Changes of South India in 10 years.

C．Efforts to protect the mangroves.

D．Work in protecting shrimps.

4. What's the best title for the text?

A．Fish Cats and Mangroves Protection

B．The Importance of Mangroves

C．Ways to Protect Fish Cats

D．Man and Nature

【推荐2】My professor brother and I have an argument about head and heart, about whether he overvalues IQ while I lean more toward EQ. We commonly have this debate about people—can you be friends with a really smart jerk（怪物）?---but that also applies to animals as well .I’d love it if our dog could fetch the morning paper and then read it to me over coffee, but I actually care much more about her loyal and innocent heart. There’s already enough thinking going on in our house, and we probably spend too much time in our heads. Where we need some role modeling is in instinct, and that’s where a dog is a vivid example.

I did not grow up with dogs, which meant that my older daughter's respectful but firm determination to get one required some adjustment on my part. I often felt she was training me: from ages of 6 to 9, she gently schooled me in various breeds and their personalities, whispered to the dogs we met with so they would charm and persuade me, demonstrated by her self-discipline that she was ready for the responsibility. And thus came our dog Twist, whom I sometimes mistake for a third daughter.

At first I thought the challenge would be to train her to sit, to follow, to walk calmly beside us and not go wildly chasing the neighborhood rabbits. But I soon discovered how much more we had to learn from her than she from us.

If it is true, for example, that the secret to a child's success is less rare genius than raw persistence, Twist’s ability to stay on task is a model for us all, especially if the task is trying to capture the sunbeam that touches softly around the living room as the wind blows through the branches outside. She never succeeds, and she never gives up. This includes when she runs straight into walls.

Then there is her unfailing patience, which breaks down only when she senses that dinnertime was 15 minutes ago and we have somehow failed to notice. Even then she is more eager than annoyed, and her refusal to complain shows a self control of which I’m not always capable when hungry.

But the lesson I value most is the one in forgiveness, and Twist first offered this when she was still very young. When she was about 7 months old, we took her to the vet to be spayed（切除卵巢）. We turned her over to a stranger, who was to perform a procedure that was probably not pleasant. But when the vet returned her to us, weak and tender, there was no accusation, no How could you do that to me? It was as though she already knew that we would not intentionally cause her pain, and while she did not understand, she forgave and curled up with her head on my daughter’s lap.

I suppose we could have concluded that she was just blindly loyal and obedient. But eventually we knew better. She is entirely capable of disobedience, as she has proved many times. She will ignore us when there are more interesting things to look at, scold us when we are careless, bark into the twilight when she has urgent messages to send. But her patience with our failings and carelessness and her willingness to give us a second chance are a daily lesson in gratitude.

My friends who grow up with dogs tell me how when they were teenagers and trusted no one in the world, they could tell their dog all their secrets. It was the one friend who would not gossip or betray, could provide in the middle of the night the soft, unselfish comfort and peace that adolescence plots to disturb. An age that is all about growth and risk needs some anchors and weights, a stable model when all else is changing. Sometimes I think Twist’s devotion keeps my girls on a benevolent leash, one that hangs quietly at their side as they walk fast along but occasionally pulls them back to safety and solid ground.

We’ve weighed so many decisions so carefully in raising our daughters---what school to send them to and what church to attend, when to give them cell phones and with what precautions. But when it comes to what really shapes their character and binds our family, I never would have thought we would owe so much to its smallest member.

1. In the first paragraph, the author suggests that ________.

A．her professor brother cares too much about IQ

B．a dog is more than a pet and companion

C．a person can either have a high IQ or a low EQ

D．she prefers dogs that are clever and loyal

2. Why did the author’s family finally keep Twist?

A．The author thought it easy to train a dog to follow master's instructions.

B．The author agreed to keep a dog immediately her daughter asked for one.

C．The daughter decided to adopt a dog because of her sense of responsibility.

D．The daughter spare no efforts to persuade the author to raise a dog at home.

3. According to the passage, all the following are Twist's characteristics EXCEPT ________.

A．obedience

B．patience

C．forgiveness

D．determination

4. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 8 mean?

A．Twist and the girls have become friends.

B．Twist knows how to follow the girls.

C．Twist’s loyalty helps the girls grow up.

D．Twist is capable of looking after the girls.

5. What does the author try to express in the passage?

A．Desires for having cute pets.	B．Attitudes to schooling and religion.
C．Thanks to Twist for her role.	D．Values in raising her hila.

6. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．The bond of dogs and Man	B．An model example--Twist
C．The growth of the dog-Twist	D．Another daughter of my family

【推荐3】With more large solar farms being developed in the sunny southwestern United States, researchers and conservationists alike are beginning to notice surprising environmental effects. While solar energy is known for its positive environmental impacts, officials at the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory have come to recognize one of its significant downsides: Some specks of birds that live close to large solar plants (太阳能板) are dying off, including endangered birds.

A recent federal investigation recovered 233 birds that had been killed as a direct result of solar plants. Researchers believe that some of the affected birds have mistaken the large, reflective areas of the solar panels for bodies of water. This is a phenomenon referred to by scientists as “lake effect.” The birds are drawn to what they assume to be water. They aim for the area and slam into the panels with great force. It is thought that the insects that birds cat fall victim to “lake effect” as well, leading the birds into the panels.

Researchers figure that between 1,000 and 28,000 birds are killed as a result of harvesting solar energy. The number of birds affected by wind farming is much greater, ranging from 140,000 to 328,000. Coal-fired electricity has the largest negative effect on birds, killing nearly 8 million a year. These numbers make solar farming seem like the best option. However, conservationists are quick to point out that areas where solar is expected to boom between 2015 and 2020 are home to some of the rarest birds in the United States. This could put specific bird species at risk of extinction.

There exists a state order in California that 20 percent of all electricity of all energy sold should be renewable by the year 2017. This has been one driving force behind the rapid development of huge solar farms. The industry, which is expected to boom as a result of this change to renewable energy, is facing newly filed lawsuits (起诉) by conservationist groups. These lawsuits could slow down the approval process for the planned solar development across the Southwest.

1. What can we infer from paragraph 1?

A．Solar farms require a long development period.

B．Most people would be shocked by the size of solar farms.

C．Solar energy equipment looks strange to most people.

D．Most people think that solar energy is very beneficial.

2. The underlined word “slam” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to       .

A．dash	B．break
C．move	D．slide

3. Which of the following best reflects the author’s viewpoint?

A．Using solar farms is the most practical way to create energy.

B．More birds are endangered by solar farms than wind farming.

C．Solar farms may not be as friendly to the environment as expected.

D．Ways should be found to reduce “lake effect” caused by solar farms.