Chinese scientists found a whale fall (鲸落) for the first time in the South China Sea during a deep-sea expedition (考察) carried out by oceanic research vessel (船) Tansuo-1.
It’s sad to learn that a whale has died in the ocean. However, that’s not the end for the whale. It has a lot to give to other sea animals after death. When a whale dies, it quickly sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor. There, the whale body provides food for deep-sea animals, which are often hungry for food. The remains can last for lots of years and create an ecosystem (生态系统) called a whale fall-an “oasis (绿洲)” of life in the deep sea.
The whale fall ecosystem can exist in the deep ocean because great pressure and cold temperatures there prevent the body from decomposing (腐烂) too quickly. But the depth also makes it hard for scientists to discover them. There are less than 50 known whale falls in the world.
The whale body in the South China Sea is about three meters long. Scientists have found several species of shrimp (虾) and fish near the whale body. Some fish have started to eat the whale’s tail. The whale fall might be quite recent and needs long-term observation (观测), according to Xie Wei, a scientist who took part in the expedition.
By studying the whale fall, scientists can better understand how marine (海洋的) ecosystems support life and how to protect biodiversity (生物多样性) resources in the deep sea.
1. A whale fall is called an “oasis” because it provides food for deep-sea animals.2. It’s hard to find whale falls because of low temperature.
3. The whale fall in the South China Sea may have formed recently.
4. The passage is mainly about the death of whale.
It was cloudy. A boy was walking through the countryside. He saw that an angel (天使) between the clouds soon disappeared (消失) after singing a beautiful song.
The boy thought it must be the door to heaven (天堂). To him, it was exciting to see what was there. So he started building a great big tower of wood, up to the sky. However, when the tower was very tall, it fell down. He tried building it with earth (泥土), but he still failed. He sat down and cried loudly.
The angel returned. She sang again and the boy listened carefully, The meaning of the song was that you could get to heaven if you were confident (自信的). At once, his heart became filled with confidence. This time, he built the tower with rocks. He was surprised to find it didn’t fall. He finally jumped onto it and climbed along it. He suddenly knew that he was able to open the door to heaven only if he believed he could do it.
1. The boy saw the angel disappear.2. The boy failed (失败) twice before he got to the sky.
3. At last, the boy built the tower with earth.
4. The story teaches us that we can do things well if we have confidence.
My friends say that I’m good at English, because I always get good marks in English tests. They think I’m a talented girl and I’m clever at English.
But in fact, I’m not a talented girl. I’m just a common girl. I’d like to say something about my experience of learning English.
I didn’t do well in English in the beginning. I started my English course at the age of 10. Maybe you can’t imagine I couldn’t say a whole sentence at that time. I was sad, but I wasn’t afraid of it. I just learned English hard. I spent almost all of my free time practicing English by listening to the tape and repeating after it. Soon I found I had made great progress in my English. At last, I could understand what the teacher said in class. Then slowly, I could get good marks at times. I knew that studying isn’t easy, so I spent much time reading more, listening more, writing more and talking more every day.
I have some other advice as well.
Don’t be nervous and try to be relaxed when you write articles or talk to foreign teachers or your own English teacher. Remember: Don’t pay too much attention to details when you are talking. If you have some mistakes, that’s all right. Think and talk in English and never give up. It’s never too late to practice English.
1. The writer thinks she is a talented girl.2. In the beginning, the writer was afraid to learn English.
3. The writer spent almost all of her free time practicing English.
4. Try not to make any mistake when you talk to the teacher.
5. The writer mainly tells us her experience of learning English and how to learn English well.
Britain’s Got Talent is a popular British TV show looking for the most talented people in the country. This year, a music group named “Sign Along With Us” got the show’s first Golden Buzzer for their excellent performance. They got much closer to win a bigger prize.
The group is made up of 18-year-old Jade Kilduff, her 4-year-old little brother Christian Kilduff, and some others. Aged from 4 to 58, there are 37 children and 28 adults in the group. They sang a beautiful song named This is Me and used sign language (手语).
They chose to give their performance in this way to help young Christian face his illness. Christian has great difficulty talking with others. His family took him to many hospitals, but they were told that he could never talk. Jade didn’t believe that and she taught her little brother sign language. “I just know there was a voice inside there waiting to come out.” she told the judges (评委) on the show.
Their performance touched everyone’s heart. There was not a dry eye in the house. “Every one of you gave a wonderful performance. It was really great.” said one of the judges.
1. A music group, “Sign Along With Us”, won a big prize in Britain’s Got Talent.2. To win the big prize, Jade’s brother aged 4 sang loudly and clearly.
3. Everyone is touched because of the great performance and the story behind it.
4. From the passage we know, we’d better sing songs with sign language.
I have a rule for travel: Never carry a map. I prefer to ask for directions.
Foreign visitors are often lost in Japan because most streets there don’t have names. In Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers. “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, usually there are not many landmarks. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. For example, people will say. “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on a map. They measure distance by means of time, not miles, “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They usually don’t know. People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions because not many visitors can understand the Greek language. Instead of giving you directions,a Greek will often say, “Follow me.” Then he’ll lead you through the streets of the city to the place.
One thing will help you everywhere— in Japan, in the US, in Greece, or in any other place. You may not understand a person’s words, but maybe you can understand his body language. He will usually turn and then point in the correct direction. Go in that direction, and you may find the place!
1. The underlined word “landmarks” means “streets”.2. If you ask people in Los Angeles for directions, they will tell you the time you have to spend.
3. The Greek language is widely used by people all over the world.
4. There are different ways to give directions in different countries.
6 . One January morning, Thomas Smith is walking his dog, Jack, in the park. Mr. Smith is sitting under a tree and Jack is running on the ice lake. Suddenly, the dog falls into the water.
“I must save my dog,” says Mr. Smith. He doesn’t think much, and he jumps into the cold water. It’s difficult for him to swim in the cold water. But he is just thinking about saving Jack. Luckily, he helps Jack out of the water. And they are safe now. “When we get out of the water, everybody asks how Jack is, and nobody is worried about me!” Mr. Smith says happily with a smile.
People think Mr. Smith is a hero(英雄). “In fact, many people in the world are doing the same as me,” Mr. Smith says. “But from now on, I must let Jack be away from the ice lake.” Animals are our great friends. Can you do the same for them like Mr. Smith? We should save the animals in danger.
正误判断，正确A/错误B。
1. The story happens on a cold morning in January.
2. Mr. Smith is talking with someone while the dog is running on the ice lake.
3. Mr. Smith feels angry because no one is worried about him.
4. People think Mr. Smith is a hero.
5. The writer wants to tell us to stay away from the ice lake.
It’s the lunch break at Shanghai Xinhua Middle School. No mobile phones can be heard ring anywhere. The common sight of crowds of children chatting on their phones or sending short messages has disappeared.
A grade 2 student said, “I couldn’t concentrate（集中精力）during classes. If the cellphone was with me, I always wanted to check if there were messages or missed phone calls. I even played games on the phone sometimes.”
The school leaders say not allowing bringing mobile phones is helpful to keep order in class. They even gave out an open letter to remind parents not to let their children bring mobile phones to school. More than 96 percent of parents say they welcome the school decision. The school is also being flexible（灵活的）in carrying out the plan. Those students who live far from school are allowed to bring mobile phones to contact their parents. But they still have to turn them off in classrooms.
Medical experts have also welcomed the school decision. They say too much dependence on mobile phones can cause many psychological problems in teenage students.
1. Lots of students used to be busy using their mobile phones during lunchtime breaks.2. The grade 2 student thinks that it is good to play cellphone games sometimes.
3. Medical experts and most parents disagree with the school decision.
4. No one is allowed to bring a mobile phone to school.
5. The passage mainly tells us students shouldn’t be allowed to bring the mobile phone in a middle school.
8 . When you are not happy, there are six ways to make you happy or feel good about yourself.
Look in the mirror(镜子) and say to yourself, “I’m a special person and there’s no one in the world like me. I can do anything!” It really works!
Do something nice for someone. Helping others always makes you feel good.
Smile! Be friendly to people around you. Look for the good things in your friends and family.
Learn something new! Do you always want to learn how to swim? Go for it!
Read and start a diary. Turn off the TV and let your imagination (想象) fly! If you have any ideas or dreams, write them down!
Stay with your family. We all need our family time. Talk with your mum, dad or maybe even your cousin.
判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合的用 “A”表示，不符合的用 “B” 表示。
1. If you have any ideas or dreams, you can write them down.
2. The passage is about how to make friends.
3. If you want to learn to swim, just do it.
4. There are only six ways to help you get happy in the world.
5. You should be friendly to people around you.
9 . A young man went to the boss of a logging crew (伐木队) and asked for a job. “Let’s see you fell (砍伐）this tree,” replied the boss. The young man went straight and skillfully felled a big tree. The boss was surprised and said, “You can start on Monday.”
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday went by, and on Thursday afternoon the boss went to the young man and said, “You can pick up your wages (薪水) on your way out today.” The young man was very surprised. He replied, “I thought you would pay on Friday.” “Usually we do,” the boss said. “But we’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. You’ve dropped from first place on Monday to last place today.”
“But I’m quite hardworking,” the young man argued. “I am the first to arrive, and the last to leave, and even work during my coffee breaks!” The boss asked, “Have you sharpened (磨快) your axe?” The young man replied, “No, sir. I’ve been working too hard to take time for that!”
Our lives are like this. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to “sharpen the axe”. Working hard is not wrong. But we all need time to relax, to think, to learn and grow. If we don’t take time to relax, we will feel bored and lose our effectiveness (效率).
判断正（A）误（B）。
1. The young man began his work on Monday.
2. The workers on the logging crew usually got wages on Thursday.
3. The young man worked hard, even during his coffee breaks.
4. It took the young man a long time to sharpen the axe.
5. The story tells us a good beginning makes a good ending.
10 . Policeman Damon Cole was like a superhero to Joshua Garcia’s family. They asked him to dress up as Spiderman for the boy’s funeral.
Earlier this month in a small city in America, the 5-year-old boy got lost and Cole was the first policeman to get to his house. He went into a dirty swimming pool to look for the lost boy. Later Cole found Joshua in the pool, but it was too late and the doctors couldn’t save him. When he died, Joshua was wearing a Spiderman shirt.
To thank Cole, Joshua’s family called Cole a “Police Hero”. “I don’t think I am a hero. I just hoped to save that boy. But sorry I can’t,” Cole said.
Joshua’s brothers asked to meet Cole a few days after he died. During the meeting, they learnt that Cole and other policemen sometimes dressed up as Batman, Iron Man or Spiderman to visit children and make them happy. Joshua’s favourite superhero was Spiderman. So the family expected Cole to do something for him. Cole said he was ready to do so.
In the funeral, Cole stood quietly to watch people flying red and blue balloons(气球) to miss the boy’s short life. “I’m always thinking about the family and the boy,” he told a TV reporter.
判断正(A)误(B)
1. The policeman Damon Cole is kind and friendly.
2. Cole found the lost boy in the playground.
3. Joshua’s family called a Police Hero to help them look for their child.
4. Joshua’s family asked Cole to be in the boy’s funeral to save him.
5. The passage is about a police hero who helped a family.
