1 . From cottages surrounded by impressive gardens to days spent exploring sandy beaches and deep woods filled with wildlife, in My Family and Other Animals, English writer Gerald Durrell provided a vivid account of his family’s time on the Greek island of Corfu in the 1930s.

Come for the arresting descriptions of Corfu landscapes and stay for Durrell’s laugh-out-loud tales of his unusual family. This book, Durrell wrote humorously in the introduction, “was intended to be a nostalgic(怀旧的)account of natural history, but in the first few pages, I made the mistake of introducing my family.”

Durrell, later known for his zoo keeping and the preservation of wildlife, was just a child during his family’s five-year stay in Corfu. He is 10-year-old Gerry in the book—curious, passionate about animals and a detailed storyteller of his strange family: his imaginative elder brother Larry with his literary ambitions, lovestruck sister Margo, sporty brother Leslie and his ever-calm, loving mother.

Durrell’s attention to detail is what makes the book so winning, with every sight, sound and smell of the island brought to life. One minute you’ll be laughing as Larry’s clever literary friends walk down to the daffodil-yellow cottage, the next you’ll be catching your breath as Durrell describes swimming at night in the Ionian Sea: “Lying on my back in the silky water, staring at the sky, only moving my hands and feet slightly, I was looking at the Milky Way stretching like a silk scarf across the sky and wondering how many stars it contained.”

My Family and Other Animals is quite difficult to classify, being one part travel, one part autobiography, one part natural history, and one part comedy, with a thread of descriptive language running throughout that sometimes raises it nearly to poetry.

As a real delight to read, it’s the perfect literary escapism for any adult or older teenager who is currently walking down a tough road in life.

1. Which word best describes Durrell’s life in Corfu?

A．Diverse.

B．Busy.

C．Risky.

D．Tough.

2. What does the underlined sentence mean in paragraph 2?

A．I just introduced my family by mistake.	B．I shouldn’t have introduced my family.
C．I gave false information about my family.	D．I couldn’t help introducing my family.

3. What are paragraph 4 and 5 mainly about?

A．Durrell’s rich imagination.	B．Some interesting plots of the book.
C．The book’s writing feature.	D．Some vivid descriptions of the island.

4. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To share an experience.	B．To introduce a writing style.
C．To recommend a book.	D．To describe an unusual place.

2 . “You’re so smart!” This encouraging response to children’s math performance is commonly heard. Recently, a new study, conducted by the University of Georgia, found that encouraging children with responses related to their personal characteristics or inborn abilities might weaken their math achievement over time.

Parents who make comments connecting their children’s performance with personal qualities like IQ are using what’s referred to as person responses. In contrast, parents who connect their children’s actions, such as efforts or strategy use, to their performance are using process responses.

For the study, researchers asked more than 500 parents to report on how they responded to their children’s math performance and their math beliefs and goals. Children were divided into two groups across a year to measure their math achievement.

The results show that parents who view math ability as changeable are more likely to give process responses focused on their children’s strategy use and efforts rather than their IQ or other personal qualities. In contrast, parents who believe math ability is unchangeable and that math failure can’t be constructive give more person responses. Parents with high expectations for their children give both responses. While responses focused on strategy and efforts are not related to any achievement results, children who receive more responses about their personal qualities — especially, related to failure — are more likely to avoid harder math problems, show higher levels of math anxiety, and score lower on math achievement tests.

Because person responses mean poor math change in children over time, researchers suggest parents limit this type of responses at home. Another recommendation for parents is to think about their own beliefs and goals for their kids and examine how these might lead them to respond in person or process ways. Simply telling parents to avoid talking about math ability may not be enough. Focusing less on how children perform and more on their strategy and enjoyment of math might be a more effective way to encourage children.

1. Which of the following is an example of process response?

A．What works well for your study?	B．Running is in your DNA.
C．You are a lucky dog.	D．Why are you such a math talent?

2. What can be learned from the study results?

A．Parents prefer to give more process responses.

B．Person responses can discourage children from learning math.

C．Process responses help with children’s math achievement.

D．Children are more likely to be affected by math anxiety.

3. What do researchers advise parents to do?

A．Ignore children’s math problems.	B．Protect their own beliefs.
C．Stress children’s performance.	D．Limit person responses.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The Strategy Children Use to Learn Math Helps

B．Responses to improve Children’s Math Performance

C．The Way Parents Talk to Children on Math Matters

D．Suggestions for Parents to Teach Their Children Math

3 .

Protected areas have mixed success in protecting wildlife, according to the largest study on the effects of reserves(保护区).

A team led by researchers from the U.K. examined water bird data from 1,506 protected areas and analyzed more than 27,000 bird populations across the world. The authors write that their study, published in Nature, is the first robust(强有力的), global assessment of protected areas’ influence on bird populations. The scientists found that protected areas with management of water birds and their habitats were more likely to benefit those populations.

“Our study shows that, while many protected areas are working well, many others are failing to have positive effect,” lead author Hannah Wauchope of the University of Exeter says in a statement. The study compared water bird populations before and after the establishment of protected areas and also compared trends of similar populations within and outside of protected areas. Water birds respond quickly to changes in site quality, making them a good group to look at when studying the impact of protected areas.

“In the majority of places we looked at, wildlife populations were still stable or were increasing, but they weren’t doing any better than in unprotected areas,” Wauchope says. “That’s disappointing, but not surprising. There seems to be this disconnect between people talking about how much land is protected and whether those areas are actually doing anything positive.”

This research comes ahead of a United Nations meeting in China to discuss biodiversity goals for the next decade. Several countries have already devoted to protecting 30 percent of the planet by 2030, yet researchers say protection alone does not necessarily ensure positive outcomes for species.

“We are not saying protected areas don’t work,” Wauchope concludes in the statement.” The key point is that their effects vary hugely, and the biggest thing this depends on is whether they are managed with species in mind—we can’t just expect protected areas to work without effective management.”

1. What can we know from paragraph 2?

A．The researchers may come from any European countries.

B．The team analyzed lots of water bird data all over the world.

C．Many readers comment that the study is robust and influential.

D．The protected areas with no management can benefit water birds.

2. Why are water birds chosen as the study subject?

A．They can create significant financial profits.

B．They can quickly respond to environmental changes.

C．They can help change the quality of waters.

D．They can’t be found outside protected areas.

3. What can we know according to Wauchope?

A．Every protected area was doing much better than unprotected areas.

B．It’s unexpected to find out the uselessness of some preserves.

C．Most wildlife population were sill stable or were increasing.

D．The researchers thought that the protected areas don’t work at all.

4. What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Unprotected areas are always better than protected areas.

B．Unprotected areas show no improvement of animal protection.

C．Protected areas need effective management based on a study.

D．Protected areas can greatly contribute to animal protection.

4 . Putting more green space around a school may help students develop some mental abilities, a study suggests. Researchers tested students repeatedly over the course of a year on attentiveness (专注力)and working memory, which is the ability to keep something in mind temporarily for performing a task. On the whole, students whose schools were surrounded by more green space improved more than pupils from schools with less green space.

The study tracked more than 2,000 students in 36 primary schools in Barcelona, Spain. The pupils were in the second to fourth grades when the study began. Green space may help mental development by reducing air pollution from vehicles, according to an article by the researchers that included pollution data from the schools. It may also help by reducing noise and encouraging physical activity, researchers said.

Policy makers should know that “more green around the school is better for cognitive development and that they should make sure that kids can see and play in green areas,” one author Mark Nieuwenhuijsen said. “Existing urban schools should think about replacing concrete or other hard surfaces with green space,” he suggested, “and even a few trees may help.”

The researchers used satellite images to group schools according to how much green space appeared on the school grounds and within about 55 yards of the school property. Their analysis showed that differences in socio-economic factors between schools did not account for the study outcome.

Sally Augustin, a psychologist, said the results made sense to her. She said the results fit with previous findings that views of nature help children and adults lower stress and perform mental tasks better.

1. What does the text mainly tell us?

A．Green space makes schools more beautiful.

B．Schools are lack of green space for students.

C．Students’ mental abilities need to be improved.

D．Green space is good for students’ mental abilities.

2. What does the underlined word “tracked” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Moved.

B．Helped.

C．Followed.

D．Found.

3. What did Mark Nieuwenhuijsen suggest?

A．More trees should be planted for kids.

B．Noise should be cleared near the school.

C．Kids should be encouraged to play more sports.

D．Air pollution should be reduced from vehicles.

4. Why is Augustin mentioned in the text?

A．To show a different opinion.

B．To introduce another interesting study.

C．To present Augustin’s view about the study.

D．To make the findings of the study more convincing.

5. In which column of a website can we probably read the text?

A．Health.

B．Education.

C．Nature.

D．Technology.

5 . Wildlife photographer Sam Turley and his wife Vera found a two-week-old blesbok (南非白面大羚羊) — whom they named Meme — on her own. She was spotted wandering around on her own after her mother passed away.

The pair took Meme in and raised the animal themselves for seven months before releasing her back out into the wild. Neither of them had ever raised a blesbok before. So it required a huge amount of patience and compassion to keep her fit and healthy but it deserved the effort. Meme would follow Vera wherever she went and sometimes the couple would have a blesbok, a dog and a cat all walking together. In the right areas, blesbok are a really common antelope to see and they are therefore often overlooked and under-appreciated. It was a privilege to be let into blesbok’s secret world and they learned more about blesbok than they thought was ever possible.

After releasing Meme back out into the wild, the couple were convinced they would never see her again, until several months later when they were driving around a reserve and happened to come across a herd of blesbok.

Vera called out Meme’s name in the hope of finding Meme. Blesbok all look very similar to one another, which makes it very difficult to distinguish individuals. When Vera started to talk, the herd raised their heads and looked over. Vera continued to call Meme and as all the other blesbok lost interest, one individual held her gaze and ran straight up to her.

After rescuing the lonely animal, Sam and Vera found it extremely emotional to have to release her back out into the wild to fend for herself — even though they knew it was the right thing to do. But after having such a strong bond with an animal, it was really difficult to see her go. They had put so much time, effort and energy into raising her but to see her walking in a herd of blesbok made it all worthwhile.

1. What happened to Meme when she was spotted?

A．She was lost in the forest.	B．She became an orphan.
C．She was hunted by a couple.	D．She was abandoned by her mother.

2. What was Meme’s life with the couple like?

A．She was rare to be seen outside.	B．She was hard to be artificially fed.
C．She fitted in well with the whole family.	D．She was under-appreciated in the family.

3. Which word can best replace the underlined word “fend” in Paragraph 5?

A．Care.

B．Look.

C．Search.

D．Hunt.

4. Which of the following can best describe the act of rescuing the blesbok?

A．Unsatisfactory.	B．Heartbreaking.
C．Effortless.	D．Rewarding.

8 . Jim Glaub and Dylan Parker had just been handed the keys to their new Manhattan apartment on 22nd Street when the outgoing tenant (房客) said something curious, “Just so you know, there’s this thing where letters addressed to Santa come to the apartment. The previous tenants received the mail too. It has been coming for years and no one knows why.”

Glaub and Parker settled in to their new home, and for the first two years only a few letters from kids or parents asked “Santa” for gifts they could not otherwise afford. Then in the months leading to Christmas 2010, their mailbox was filled with letters to Santa every day. They responded to as many as they could, writing notes, even buying gifts. Glaub, of course, is not Santa. They could do only so much.

But one night, when he and Parker threw a 1960s — themed Christmas party, a solution appeared. Guests noticed the hundreds of letters they’d yet to act upon and asked about them. Glaub told them the story and his guests were intrigued. “A lot of people were like, ‘I’ll take a letter. I’ll satisfy it.’” And so was born Miracle on 22nd Street.

To spread the word, they started a website, miracleon22ndstreel.com, and a Facebook page. Working with other nonprofits that help those in need, they invited families from around the county to go online and request gifts for their children. Likewise, donors, also known as “elves,” can sign up to buy gifts for a child or family, accompanied by a signed note with Elf before their name, such as Elf Jim or Elf Jody.

Last year, Glaub and Miracle on 22nd Street helped more than 800 families. Glaub no longer wonders why the letters come to the apartment. Putting in the long hours to help the families is what it’s all about for him. “It’s part of Christmas for me,” he says, “It wouldn’t be Christmas without it.”

1. What did the tenant think of receiving the letters in the apartment?

A．Odd.

B．Exciting.

C．Frightening

D．Disturbing.

2. What can be implied about the couple in paragraph 2?

A．They got really bothered.	B．They had tried their best.
C．They overcame the challenge.	D．They were content with their new life.

3. What does the underlined word “intrigued” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Puzzled.

B．Relieved.

C．Interested.

D．Surprised.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．How a volunteer organization is formed.

B．How Miracle on 22nd Street is operated.

C．How a kind couple deal with letters to Santa.

D．How donors purchase gifts for families in need.