1 . Before people knew much about the ways of birds, it was thought that they didn’t have to be taught like children, but that they knew everything they needed to know straight from the eggs. That is, they were said to act from instinct（本能）alone and not at all from thinking, as we do.

Another belief that people had was that birds of a kind were carbon copies: that they looked exactly like each other, all acted in the same way, and all sang the same song.

But since we began to study birds more closely, we have found these things are not true. We find that birds learn things by being taught, as we do. Also, they find out how to do things themselves, and they are not all alike, as so many machines.

More than this, we see that they don’t look or act exactly like each other. For when we know one robin well, we can tell him from any other robin. And no two of a kind sing exactly the same song.

A bird is a genius in many ways. One is by the way it acts when it can’t do as it is used to doing. I saw a robin once who wished to build a nest but couldn’t find mud（泥）to put into it. It was as dry as a desert, and there were no streams near. Now a robin’s nest must have mud, and the bird seemed having no idea for a while but at last thought of a way to get it. She went to a bathing dish that the people                           of the house kept filling with water for the birds, jumped into it, and got her legs very wet. Then she flew to the road, and walked around like a soldier. In a short time, her legs had a good coating of mud, which she careful picked off                           with her mouth, and took it to the nest she was building. She repeated this action many times until she had as much mud as she needed.

A bird often shows sense by the way she repairs a nest that has been thrown out of place. Sometimes she will add a new straw（稻草）. One bird, whose nest broke a little, put so many straws above that they made a little tent over it.

1. In the first paragraph, what does it mean that it was thought that “birds knew everything they needed to know straight from the egg”?

A．They know everything.

B．They learn how to hunt quickly.

C．They have to be taught like children.

D．They are born knowing everything.

2. What do the first two paragraphs mainly tell us?

A．What the ways of birds were in ancient times.

B．How different kinds of birds learn about the new world.

C．What people knew about birds before they began to study them.

D．What different kinds of birds look and act.

3. Why does the writer give the example of the robin in Paragraph 5?

A．To show us how the bird builds its house.

B．To show us how the bird lives alone.

C．To show us how people take care of it.

D．To show us the bird can solve the problems by itself.

4. Which is the right order according to the passage?
①The robin got her legs wet.             ②People filled a dish with water.
③The robin flew to the road.             ④The robin flew back to its nest.
⑤The robin made its legs full of mud.

A．②①③⑤④

B．①②③④⑤

C．②①⑤③④

D．①②③⑤④

2 . One day a teacher told his students a story: There were three dogs chasing a woodchuck (土拨鼠),which ran into a hole in a tree. Soon from the tree out ran a white rabbit. The rabbit ran away very fast. Pursued（追赶） and driven by the three dogs, the rabbit climbed up a tree. But it couldn’t stand steadily, so it fell down to the ground. the rabbit climbed up a tree., the rabbit ran away quickly again…

Finishing the story, the teacher asked, “Are there any problems with the story?” One student said, “Rabbit cannot climb trees.” Another said, “It’s impossible for three dogs not to catch a rabbit.”

When the students couldn’t find any more problems with the story, the teacher said, “There is another problem. Where did the woodchuck go? The woodchuck was the goal that the dogs were chasing. But because of the rabbit’s appearance, the dogs changed their direction, and our thoughts unknowingly changed, too. The woodchuck disappeared in our minds.”

Such is life. While holding on to our goals, we are sometimes fascinated by surrounding(周围的) beauties or interrupted(打断) by minor details, so we forget our goals.

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?

A．The woodchuck followed the rabbit quickly.

B．A woodchuck was run after by three dogs.

C．The rabbit jumped off a tree.

D．The woodchuck fell off the tree and ran away.

2. The teacher wanted his students to      by telling the story.

A．keep a cool mind when facing difficulties

B．find as many problems as possible

C．often change their goals in their life

D．concentrate on their goals in their life

3. What’s the best title for the article?

A．Three Dogs and A Rabbit.

B．Where Did the Woodchuck Go?

C．Forget Our Goals in Life

D．Are There Any Problems With the Story?

4. How is the article organized(组织)?

A．	B．
C．	D．

3 . Why do you think people who live in some hot countries eat very spicy(辛辣的)food? Is it because the spices make the food taste better? Is it just because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents liked hot food，or is there some connection between spices and healthy food? Researchers from Cornell University think that it is because spice plants have some important chemicals. These chemicals can kill bacteria(细菌)which spoil food．
“Most common spices can kill 75 to 100 percent of the bacteria in food，”explains one of the scientists．The bacteria grow more easily and spoil(变质)food more quickly at higher temperatures．For this reason，it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates,
Do you like your food spicy? Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from．If you like spicy food，it is possible that hundreds of years ago，when there were no fridges，people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling．The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer，healthier lives．Today，in a time of fridges，the spices just make the food taste good．
1. The chemicals in spices keep food from spoiling by_________．

A．making food taste better

B．making food hotter

C．preventing bacteria getting into food

D．killing bacteria in food

2. Food goes bad more quickly in hot climates because_______．

A．cold temperature makes bacteria

B．bacteria get used to hot food

C．high temperature helps bacteria grow faster

D．bacteria spoil food only at high temperature

3. According to the passage，spices are useful in the following things except_____．

A．helping you to live longer

B．helping to keep you healthier

C．making your food taste better

D．taking the place of fridges

4 . It had been snowing very hard for days. Jigs and Reads had nothing to eat for a day. They know that things weren’t right at home. So yesterday morning they wanted to go out. Bob helped them get out through a window, because the snow was so deep outside that he couldn’t open the door. Last night, they didn’t come back. Bob said to himself, “They are only five months old. This weather will kill them.” But just then Bob heard them calling him. He looked out and could not believe ----they were drawing a big hare through the snow. They dropped it through the window into Bob’s hands. A hare(野兔) for dinner.
1. Jigs and Reads in the story were _________.

A．Bob’s children

B．dogs

C．hares

D．neighbours

2. They know that things weren’t right at home. It means that they know _______.

A．Bob had no food to give them	B．Bob could open the door
C．it wasn’t very cold outside.	D．they were too young to eat anything

3. Finally, Jigs and Reads returned with a big _________.

A．fox

B．dog

C．hare

D．pig

4. .The story says that Jigs and Reads ____________.

A．wanted out to play with rain	B．asked to look for money outside
C．ate much more than Bob did	D．were a great help to Bob

5. . Choose the right order according to the story.
①They caught a hare in the snow.
②They went out and stayed outside for the night.
③They brought the hare home.
④They felt hungry and wanted to find food.

A．4321

B．1432

C．4213

D．2413

5 . 阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
There are many kinds of heroes．Even animals can be heroes．This passage tells about three amazing animals．Each one is a hero!
Thumper, the Dog
Thumper was a dog that lived with a family which had a three-year-old son named Benjamin．One day Benjamin wandered(闲逛) into a large field． The grass in the field was taller than he was, so he could not find his way out．Hundreds of people began to search for Benjamin．When they found him, they saw Thumper stayed with Benjamin and kept him warm．So Benjamin had stayed safe．
Lulu, the Pig
The Altsmans had a pet pig named Lulu．One summer the couple went camping and took Lulu with them．The husband went fishing one morning．The wife didn’t feel well, so she and Lulu stayed in the camper．Suddenly Mrs．Altsman fell to the floor．Lulu pushed the camper door open and climbed out for help．When a car came by, she lay down in front of it．When the driver got out, Lulu led him back to the camper．The man called for help and Mrs．Altsman was taken to hospital．
Sugar, the Cat
Sugar was a beautiful cat．Three years ago she wandered onto the Woods’ farm in California and Mrs．Woods began feeding her．Mrs．Woods noticed something wrong with the cat’s left leg, but this didn’t make Sugar any less special．Mrs．Woods loved Sugar．Later the couple moved to a new farm in Oklahoma． They gave Sugar to a neighbor who would take good care of her, because they knew she wouldn’t like riding in cars for days．However, Sugar walked across deserts and mountains and traveled more than 1,500 miles to the Woods’ new farm! Mr．and Mrs．Woods could hardly believe their eyes．No one knows how Sugar found her way to Oklahoma．
1. How did Thumper help Benjamin?

A．By searching for him in the field．

B．By finding the way out for him．

C．By staying with him all the time．

D．By cutting the grass around him．

2. Why did Lulu lie down on the road?

A．To get help．

B．To watch the cars．

C．To have a sleep．

D．To ask for a lift．

3. What’s the right order of the following things according to the story?
a． Mrs．Altsman was helped by the driver
b． The Altsmans went camping with Lulu．
c． Lulu pushed the door open and climbed out．
d． Mrs．Altsman and Lulu stayed in the camper．

A．a—b—c—d

B．a—d—c—b

C．b—d—c—a

D．b—d—a—c

4. What did Sugar do in the story?

A．She tried to find help．

B．She protected her owners．

C．She went camping with her owners．

D．She went a long way to find her owners

5. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Sugar was left to a neighbor because the Woods knew she didn't like riding in cars for days．

B．Benjamin couldn’t find his way out because the field was too large．

C．Thanks to Benjamin, Thumper could stay safe in the field．

D．Sugar travelled more than 1,500 kilometers to the Wood’s new farm．

6 . Although people everywhere seem to enjoy drinking coffee, they don’t all have the same coffee culture. In Europe, for example, coffee shops are common places for people to meet friends and to talk while they drink coffee. On the other hand, places like this were not as common in North America in the past. Instead, people in North America liked to drink coffee in their homes with friends. The coffee culture in the USA changed when Starbucks (星巴克)coffee shops spread across the country.

The first Starbucks coffee shop opened in 1971 in downtown Seattle, Washington, in the USA. It was a small coffee shop that cooked its own coffee beans. The coffee shop’s business did well, and by 1981 there were three Starbucks stores in Seattle.

Things really began to change for the company in 1981.That year, Howard Schultz met the three men who　　1　　Starbucks. Schultz worked in New York for a company that made kitchen equipment. He noticed that Starbucks ordered a large number of special coffee makers, which caused his great interest. Schultz went to Seattle to see what Starbucks did. In 1982, the original Starbucks owners hired Schultz as the company’s head of marketing（市场营销）.

In 1983, Schultz traveled to Italy. The special environment of the espresso(浓咖啡 ) bars there caught his eyes. Back in the USA, Schultz created an environment for Starbucks coffee shops that was comfortable and casual, and customers everywhere seemed to like it. Starbucks began opening more stores across the USA. Then the company opened coffee shops in other countries as well. Today, there are more than 16,000 Starbucks coffee shops all over the world.

However, that does not mean Starbucks has not had problems. In fact, many Starbucks stores have closed over the past few years. On the one hand, this is because there were too many coffee shops competing for business in one small area. On the other hand, stores in some countries closed because the coffee culture there did not match with the “feel the same everywhere” environment offered by Starbucks.

1. The underlined word “ran” in Paragraph 3 probably means “       ”.

A．closed

B．managed

C．left

D．sold

2. According to the passage, which is the right order for the following sentences?
a. This man helped to make Starbucks a huge coffee company.
b. He went to Seattle to learn about the company and later worked for it.
c. Howard Schultz noticed Starbucks ordered lots of special coffee makers.
d. Starbucks began as a small coffee company in Seattle in the USA.

A．a-d-c-b	B．a-d-b-c
C．d-c-b-a	D．d-c-a-b

3. Why did so many Starbucks close in small areas?

A．The coffee in these places was too expensive.

B．The style of the coffee stores seems the same.

C．People like to drink coffee at home with friends.

D．There were too many coffee shops in one place.

4. Which of the following shows the right structure of the passage?(P=Paragraph)

A．	B．
C．	D．

7 . Tony is six years old. He is a good boy. But he can’t get up early. He sleeps until nine or ten o’clock in the morning. He is often late for school.
Tony’s mother doesn’t want him to be late for school. So she buys him an alarm clock. She tells Tony, ‘ you must get up when you hear the clock ring.’
‘Yes, Mum,’ said Tony. After that Tony get up at seven thirty when he hears the clock ring.
One day his mother forgets (忘记）to make the clock ring. And the next morning Tony doesn’t get up at seven thirty. It’s time for breakfast. Mother goes to see him. Tony is in bed and his eyes are open.
‘Why don’t you get up?’ His mother is angry.
‘I am waiting for the bell.’
1. Tony’s mother buys him a clock, because ________.

A．he can’t get up early in the morning	B．the clock is good
C．Tony likes it	D．she wants to give her son a present

2. This ticle（文章） is ________.

A．a piece of news

B．a joke

C．a letter

D．an introduction（介绍）