1 . My interest in wildlife and rainforests began at an early age, when my parents introduced me to nature books and magazines. I was _______ by the pictures of strange animals living in distant lands. As I got older, my mother and father _______ my learning by taking me on trips to other countries. Therefore, I could see wildlife firsthand. I grew to _______ appreciate places of natural beauty and _______ the environment around me.

Over the years I have seen many beautiful _______ and met many wonderful people. I have swum with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands, _______ lemurs (狐猴) sing and dance in Madagascar, and had many other amazing _______. I have also become increasingly aware of the changes _______ by human activities. Some of the special places I so _______ are no longer around today. My inspiration to protect rainforests comes from a particular ________ in the rainforest of Borneo when an area of ________ was destroyed by loggers (伐木工).

Today I ________ a great deal of time reading, writing, traveling to rainforests, and talking with scientists doing research on them. My ________ is to raise awareness, interest, and appreciation of wild-lands like rainforests. It is not too ________ to save these special places and I hope that my work will someday inspire people to make a ________ in the world around them.

1.

A．frightened

B．comforted

C．fascinated

D．disturbed

2.

A．chose

B．encouraged

C．decided

D．explored

3.

A．possibly

B．only

C．mostly

D．greatly

4.

A．respect

B．destroy

C．balance

D．govern

5.

A．figures

B．gifts

C．places

D．tools

6.

A．made

B．watched

C．heard

D．helped

7.

A．adventures

B．dreams

C．experiments

D．questions

8.

A．prevented

B．needed

C．shown

D．caused

9.

A．disliked

B．forgot

C．enjoyed

D．climbed

10.

A．experience

B．solution

C．challenge

D．field

11.

A．mountain

B．rainforest

C．desert

D．plain

12.

A．waste

B．spend

C．avoid

D．miss

13.

A．method

B．major

C．strength

D．goal

14.

A．fresh

B．old

C．late

D．serious

15.

A．promise

B．decision

C．plan

D．difference

2 . In Lauderdale lives a young girl, Mary Lou. She is a(n) ______ bird-watcher at a very young age. In fact, she’s so ______ about birds that she has already written a children’s book about them. It's ______ for a 13-year-old girl in school.

It all started when her family moved to a new neighborhood. Mary would feel very ______ at times with few kids living on her street. Becoming a bird-watcher helped her ______ the new neighborhood and feel more at home.

She became deeply attracted to bird-watching in Grade Six when she had to write a book for a school project. She decided to write something she knew: the mockingbird. The homework was just the ______ of Mary’s great writing adventure.

Every morning Mary takes her binoculars (望远镜) and heads out to ______ birds. To watch birds, one must not make a lot of ______. If a watcher makes any sudden movements, the birds will probably become ______ and fly away.

Mary usually uses her binoculars to ______ different types of birds. Sometimes she just sits in the wildlife areas, ______ the various birds as they come to eat and drink at the nearby lake. Mary is quite a(n) ______ on birds types, but she can't always name every bird she sees. So she thinks there are always new lessons and the sky is full of ______.

When Mary was writing her bird book for children, she studied hard by searching the Internet. She also ______ some of the birds for the book herself with her color pencils. Finally, after nine months of ______, the book was finished.

1.

A．experienced

B．independent

C．intelligent

D．normal

2.

A．selective

B．knowledgeable

C．patient

D．flexible

3.

A．inspiring

B．diverse

C．commercial

D．amazing

4.

A．proud

B．joyful

C．lonely

D．hesitant

5.

A．respond to

B．settle into

C．figure out

D．go off

6.

A．schedule

B．process

C．lesson

D．beginning

7.

A．feed on

B．give way to

C．look for

D．clean up

8.

A．mistakes

B．noises

C．descriptions

D．traps

9.

A．hopeful

B．pleased

C．scared

D．disappointed

10.

A．identify

B．gather

C．analyze

D．master

11.

A．observing

B．impressing

C．exchanging

D．describing

12.

A．journalist

B．expert

C．tourist

D．designer

13.

A．power

B．imagination

C．secrets

D．improvement

14.

A．collected

B．rescued

C．kept

D．illustrated

15.

A．study

B．publish

C．complain

D．efforts

4 . Uber has picked Melbourne as the first city outside of the United States to test its flying taxis.

Test flights in the Australian city will begin next year with a goal of commercial ride-hailing (打车) services by 2023, it announced on Tuesday.

“We will see other Australian cities following soon after,” Susan Anderson, Uber's regional manager for Australia, said at the company's annual flying car conference in Washington DC.

Melbourne will be the third city to host trials of Uber's flying taxis, after Dallas, Texas, and Los Angeles, California, the electric taxis will be flown by a pilot.

Uber has partnered with NASA for its flying taxi program, named Elevate, and is one of several companies racing to make flying vehicles a reality. Other big names in the business include Rolls Royce and Boeing.

Even as it works on developing autonomous, electric flying vehicles–which are still several years away-Uber is taking its service to the skies in other ways.

The company will start a helicopter service on July 9, taking passengers from Manhattan to JFK Airport in eight minutes. It says customers who buy the roughly $200 ticket will save an hour of travel time during rush hour.

But the rollout (首次展示) of that service is now clouded by safety concerns about increased air traffic in cities, following two accidents in New York City in recent weeks.

A helicopter crashed onto the roof of a Manhattan building on June 10, killing the pilot. This deadly accident came weeks after a helicopter crash in the Hudson River. There were no deaths in that incident.

“For us, it shows the need to make safety the absolute base of everything we do,” said Eric Allison, Uber's head of Elevate.

Safety will also be a concern in Australia, where Uber has nearly 4 million regular customers for its ride-hailing service.

“We will continue to work with communities and governments to ensure that we create an urban aviation (飞行) ride-share network that is safe, quiet and green,” Anderson said.

1. What can we learn about the flying taxis from the text?

A．Most flying taxis are self-driving.

B．The flying taxi was first tried out in Melbourne.

C．Flying taxis could be used in Australia in several years.

D．The flying taxis turned out to be a failure in America.

2. Why does the author mention Uber's helicopter service?

A．To further introduce NASA's cooperation with Uber.

B．To show the challenges facing the flying taxi service.

C．To explain why Uber's technology stands out.

D．To describe the development of Uber's flying services.

3. What is the author's major concern about flying taxis?

A．Safety.

B．Management.

C．Side effects.

D．Affordability.

4. What is the author's attitude toward the flying taxi?

A．Objective.

B．Skeptical.

C．Disapproving.

D．Optimistic.

5 . As parents, we walk a fine line between caring for our children and teaching them how to care for themselves. When they're little, they need our help with everything. Over time, kids usually take the lead on things like feeding and dressing themselves, but it can be difficult to know when it's time for them to start doing some basic things, such as packing their own lunches for school or solving problems with teachers without a parent's help.

Blogger Amy Carney recently shared a post about the things parents should stop doing for their teens. In it, Carney shared the basic skills that she expects her kids to master by the time they hit 13, such as waking themselves up in the morning, making their own breakfast and lunch, and finishing their own homework.

Barb Harvey, a childhood behavior expert, gave me her answer: The age at which children learn to master certain skills will be different depending upon the maturity (成熟) and interest level of the child.

I asked the same question among my friends. They gave all kinds of answers, which can explain Harvey's opinion.

Therefore, there's only one expert who can determine when your kids have the ability to deal with certain skills, and that's you. If your kids aren't ready to pack their own lunches — don't sweat it. Help them learn the skills they're ready to deal with and keep working towards the end goal of raising responsible and able adults. Because if there's one thing that we can all agree on as parents, it's that time moves quickly when you're raising kids. One day you will wish they could just do things without you and the next day, you will feel upset that they do.

1. What is Amy Carney's expectation when her children are 13?

A．To be a skillful cook.	B．To follow Harvey's opinion.
C．To be an expert.	D．To have basic skills.

2. Who can decide when the children will learn to care for themselves?

A．Amy Carney.	B．Barb Harvey.
C．The children.	D．The parents.

3. Why will parents feel upset when their children grow up?

A．Their kids can do nothing.

B．They feel less important.

C．Their children become able adults.

D．Their kids disagree on anything.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Walking a fine line.

B．Blogger Amy Carney.

C．Parents and their children's growth.

D．A childhood behavior expert.

7 . Sheep farmers can profit by planting trees and selling carbon credits, according to a new study. The report by the University of Sheffield, published in the journal Environmental Research, suggests that farmers with more than 60 acres of land could turn a profit if their land were returned to forest and they received £ 3 per ton of CO₂ captured. The farmers could then sell the carbon ‘credits’ to companies looking to offset(抵消)their emissions(排放物), such as airlines.

The study was released as the UK farming sector prepares to move away from the Basic Payment System to the new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), which focuses on producing ‘public goods’, such as recovering ecosystems, flood defenses and carbon storage. Carbon credits are currently being sold for £ 15 per ton, a price that could make any forest size profitable, according to the study. The research also suggests that if the UK increased its tree cover from 8% to 12%, the amount of carbon emissions captured by forests would increase by 10%.

“Sheep farming in the UK is not profitable without subsidies(补贴), but forests dull sell carbon credits can be economically workable—so it makes sense for the Government to help farmers transition (过渡),” believes Colin Osborne, the lead author of the study, “In the end, these come down to political questions of how we want our countryside to be used, how we value livestock production over the global costs of climate breakdown and how the Government supports farmers and rural communities.”

However, critics say that the study is far too simplistic, with the National Sheep Association (NSA) saying land management shouldn’t only focus on carbon emissions, but has to be multi-functional. Speaking to Farmers Guardian, NSA CEO Phil Stocker says it’s “really easy for scientists to justify the planting of forests through a carbon calculation (计算), because it is easy to measure how much carbon is in a tree and then apply an offset value”.

Mr. Stocker notes that grassland can effectively capture carbon and adds, “I appreciate trees as much as anyone, but to introduce policies to destroy grasslands by creating forests is short-sighted at best.”

1. What is the new study about?

A．Forests giving way to sheep farming.

B．UK sheep farmers preferring to plant trees.

C．Sheep farmers contributing greatly to environmental protection.

D．UK sheep farmers getting paid for replacing their grassland with forest.

2. What is the aim of the new ELMS?

A．To help sheep farmers get richer and richer.

B．To support those suffering from natural disasters.

C．To use the land in an environmentally-friendly way.

D．To encourage people to plant more trees on their land.

3. What do Colin Osborne’s words focus on?

A．The role of the Government.	B．The future of sheep farming.
C．The costs of climate breakdown.	D．The problems of rural communities.

4. Which of the following would Phil Stocker agree with?

A．It is meaningful to measure carbon emissions.

B．It is unwise to replace grassland with woodland.

C．Subsidizing farmers helps improve soil quality.

D．Grassland plays a more vital role than woodland.

8 . Parents may fear that if their high school student isn’t motivated (有动力) to do well in classes, there’s nothing that will change that. But a new study found that students’ learning motivation often did change and usually for the better.

1,670 students from grades 9 to 11 took part in the study in two school years, during which they completed several surveys that assessed their motivation. After each survey, the students were placed into six different profiles (档案), from worst — those who were not motivated at all, to best — those who had an inner desire to learn.

The study found about 67 % students did change their profiles during the two years and there was an overall positive change in students’ motivation. For example, 8% of the students were in the best profile — autonomously motivated — in the first year, and that increased to 11.4% in the second year. The worst profile, the not motivated, described 2.8% of the students in the first year, dropping to 2.1% in the second year.

“The other good news in the study was that if we can find better ways to motivate students, if we can get them in a better profile, they tend to stay there,” said Kui Xie, lead author of the study and professor of educational studies at the Ohio State University.

Why did students move in a positive direction? One reason may be simply because they’re a year older and more mature (成熟).

But the study did find two factors that impacted how likely they were to become more motivated. One was the previous achievement. Students who had higher grade the first year were more likely to remain in better profiles in the second year of the study. The other factor was school belongingness, with students who felt they were more a part of their school in the first year being more likely to move to or stay in a better profile in the second year.

“This may be one area where we can help students become more motivated,” Xie said. “Belongingness is something schools can change. They can find ways to help students feel like they are part of the school community.”

1. What did Kui Xie’s study discover?

A．Students’ willingness to study can be improved.

B．Teenagers’ inner desire to learn can be assessed.

C．Students from grades 9 to 11 are easy to be inspired.

D．Teenagers’ learning motivation is parents’ most concern.

2. What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 2?

A．The background of the study.

B．The influence of the study.

C．The purpose of the study.

D．The process of the study.

3. According to the study, what influences students’ motivation?

A．Their average ages.

B．Their previous scores.

C．Their personal profiles.

D．Their motivated schoolmates.

4. What may Kui Xie probably agree?

A．Schools should put students in better profiles.

B．Students should have their own assessment plan.

C．Schools should use motivation strategies to inspire students.

D．Students should improve their communication with their parents.

9 . When I was a kid, my sister and I would fight all the time over nearly everything. But as we grew older, our bond strengthened by sharing secrets, offering advice and trading clothes. Having a sister by my side while growing up taught me many lessons about the unique bond.

And now, thanks to an 8-year long study that’s making the rounds on the Internet again, science is confirming what I know is true. In the study, researchers discovered that having an older or younger sister can help ease the anxiety for kids between the ages of 10 and 14 years. They also found that people with sisters can “learn how to make up and to have control over their emotions again, which are skills that undoubtedly serve children well.

The revival of this study actually comes on the heels of another newer study, which shows that it’s not just the older kids and parents who influence and shape children as they grow. It turns out that younger siblings(兄弟姐妹) do too, and what’s more, they may also give their older siblings a greater chance of developing empathy (同情).

The Canadian study followed 452 pairs of siblings, all between a year-and-a-half and 4 years old. The researchers found that having a younger sibling increased the older sibling's level of empathy.

This research confirms that sisters are pretty amazing in making the world a much lovely place. As the mom of two boys, I often wonder what kinds of lessons they will learn from their younger sister. Perhaps they will be the same lessons I learned from mine that cooler heads always win. This study gives me hope that all those endless arguments between my kids may actually be laying the groundwork for conflict-settlement skills.

1. What can we learn from the study?

A．Children under four develop empathy fastest.

B．It is normal for siblings to quarrel.

C．Having siblings is not always a headache.

D．Having sisters is helpful to mental health.

2. What does the underlined word "revival"in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Result	B．Beginning.
C．Reappearance.	D．Significance.

3. What can we learn about the author’s children?

A．They love their mom very much.

B．They have a higher level of empathy.

C．They often quarrel with one another.

D．They have learned the same lessons as the the author.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Siblings have a unique bond.

B．Siblings have something in common.

C．Having siblings is good to children.

D．Children having siblings are considerate.