1 . After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.

Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.

The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.

As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.

The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．Wildlife research in the United States.

B．Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area.

C．The conflict between farmers and gray wolves.

D．The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park.

2. What did the disappearance of gray wolves bring about?

A．Damage to local ecology.

B．Preservation of vegetation.

C．A decline in the park’s income.

D．An increase in the variety of animals.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards the Yellowstone wolf project?

A．Doubtful.

B．Uncaring.

C．Positive.

D．Disapproving.

2 . I have dreamed of taking a trip to Hawaii since I graduated, but the best thing always needs waiting.

I took a trip with my friends to Haleakala National Park, which lies in Hawaii.

When we arrived at Haleakala National Park, we were advised to watch the early morning sunrise. I was lost in the sightseeing (观光) that afternoon, so I could hardly wait to see the sunrise. The next morning, we all got out of bed very early and got to the seaside at 3 o’clock. In the first half an hour, we imagined how wonderful it would be when the first light came out through the thick clouds and how soft it would be when the light touched our skin, so we waited and waited. However, another half an hour later, I gradually lost my patience since there was nothing but the chilly darkness, and I felt that I was frozen to death. (冻死) But my friends were still extremely cheerful.

Nearly another one hour later, “Amazing!” Judy burst out and we all shouted to welcome the light, which was really unbelievable. Until today, I dare say that it is the most impressive sunrise in my life. However, waiting in the morning darkness is also one memory I can’t forget forever.

Waiting sometimes is really a hard thing for most of us as it needs patience and strong-willed determination (决心) , but what about the result after that? It might turn out to be pleasing and unbelievable. So, it is really worth (值得的) waiting for the best.

1. What can we learn from the passage?

A．he author’s friends and the author took a trip to China.

B．Hawaii is a good place to enjoy the sunrise.

C．Sometimes, it is worth waiting for the best.

D．The author enjoyed the worst sunrise in his life.

2. When did they see the first light of the sunrise?

A．About 3 o’clock.	B．About 4 o’clock.
C．About 5 o’clock.	D．About 6 o’clock.

3. What’s the meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph 2?

A．Total.

B．Cold.

C．Terrible.

D．Interesting.

4. How did the author feel when waiting for the sunrise?

A．Excited all the time.	B．Afraid all the time.
C．Firstly excited then afraid.	D．Firstly excited then impatient.

3 . My wife and I moved into our home two years ago. We had a yard with a lot of ________. Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some ________ to the area.

Last summer, I found a tiny little plant in the yard that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either.

We decided to let it ________ growing until we could find out what it was.

Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the ________ plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. I decided to ________ the weeds (杂草) around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ________.The sunflower had not ________ where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the ________.

That’s when I ________ that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. If we ________ ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we ________ to go and get what we need for growth.

We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the ________ to achieve our goals. Like the sunflower, it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had ________ in itself that it would succeed. Stand tall like the sunflower and be ________ of who and what we are, and then the environment will begin to ________ us. We will find a way to go under or around any “rocks” in order to reach our goals.

1.

A．flower

B．insects

C．vegetables

D．rocks

2.

A．water

B．fertilizer

C．color

D．shape

3.

A．stop

B．continue

C．improve

D．escape

4.

A．weak

B．strange

C．lonely

D．pretty

5.

A．collect

B．tend

C．remove

D．watch

6.

A．unusual

B．wonderful

C．terrible

D．valuable

7.

A．passed

B．started

C．left

D．died

8.

A．air

B．top

C．sun

D．house

9.

A．hoped

B．realized

C．doubted

D．regretted

10.

A．fill in

B．put in

C．worry about

D．believe in

11.

A．forget

B．hate

C．aim

D．wait

12.

A．wish

B．plan

C．ability

D．idea

13.

A．faith

B．energy

C．virtue

D．courage

14.

A．aware

B．afraid

C．proud

D．tired

15.

A．forgive

B．support

C．upset

D．affect

4 . By now, most people know they should be eating more vegetables. But are there ways to get more from the vegetables you already eat? A research shows that when it comes to vegetables, it’s not only how much we eat, but also how we prepare them, that decides the vitamins and other nutrients that enter our body.

Many studies show that people who eat lots of vegetables have less heart disease, and eye problems and even cancer. But raw vegetables are not always best. The researchers found that 198 Germans who eat raw food were short of lycopene, the matter found in tomatoes and other red vegetables. “There is an idea that raw foods are always going to be better,” says Steven K. Clinton, a professor at Ohi o State University. “For fruits and vegetables, sometimes a little bit of cooking can be helpful.”

A number of factors decide how the vegetables do good to people’s health before they reach the table, including where and how they were grown and stored before being bought. No single cooking way is best. Some nutrients are easily lost in cooking if they are cooked in different ways.

Vitamins C and B are often lost. In January, another report said that boiling was better for carrots than frying or serving them raw. Frying was the worst way to cook.

What cooked with the vegetables can also be important? When the vegetables were cooked with fat, the diners can get more nutrients. Fat can also make the taste of vegetables better, meaning that people will eat more of them. Putting on some other things that make it taste better—a little salt—can make the food taste better.

1. The writer mainly wants to tell us that ________.

A．people should eat more vegetables

B．the way people eat vegetables is important

C．eating vegetables is good for us

D．how much vegetables one should eat

2. The people who eat the raw vegetables for a long time will ________.

A．have the eyes problems	B．have heart disease
C．be in need of lycopene	D．hate eating tomatoes

3. The following decide how the vegetables do good to people EXCEPT ________.

A．the place where the vegetables are grown

B．the way how the vegetables are stored

C．the way how the vegetables are prepared

D．the price at which the vegetable are sold

4. From the last paragraph, we can know ________.

A．It’s better to cook vegetables with fat

B．the more fat in the cooking, the fewer vegetables people will eat

C．It’s better to cook the vegetables without salt

D．the fat will increase the nutrition of the vegetables

5 . Learning Chinese could be one of the most important decisions you ever made. Chinese is becoming the language to learn in the 21st century. With the world’s largest population and a rapidly growing middle class, China stands to become the engine of the world’s economy in the coming years. This will make learning Chinese very important to people in many industries, or to those of us who wish to visit China or learn about its culture and history.

There is an ongoing effort to modernize the writing system and standardize(使标准化) the language. An increasing number of people learning Chinese are learning Mandarin, so unless you absolutely need to learn another dialect (such as Cantonese), be sure to study Mandarin.

For native English speakers Chinese is one of the most difficult and most different languages to learn. The vocabulary is wholly unfamiliar and unlike anything we know. In addition, in the Chinese tone system, words are said in rising or falling tones, which helps to distinguish them. Furthermore, there is the Chinese writing system—a collection of thousands of individual ideograms (表意文字), or symbols, which represent a word or an idea. These ideograms have no phonetic value—that is to say, we can’t tell how the word is pronounced by how it is written. There is a way to present written Chinese in a phonetic script called pinyin. If you are learning Chinese, you'll be working with this pinyin system, but the beauty of the traditional writing system shouldn’t be passed up(放弃). All these factors make learning Chinese difficult for us. Yet, for a determined learner, there’s always a way to overcome them.

1. Why is learning Chinese becoming more and more important?

A．Chinese engines are very welcome.

B．China has the world’s largest population.

C．There are more and more rich people in China.

D．China has become important to the world economy.

2. What can we learn from the text?

A．The author thinks Chinese is as difficult as English.

B．The author is interested in the Chinese language and culture.

C．Foreign languages can play a great role in industrial development.

D．As long as the pinyin system is learned well, one can learn Chinese well.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The difficulties of learning Chinese.

B．The advantages of learning Chinese.

C．The Chinese tone system.

D．The Chinese writing system.

4. What would probably be written following this text?

A．The sources of Chinese characters.

B．The importance of learning Chinese.

C．The advice on how to learn Chinese.

D．The difficulties of learning other languages.

6 . Central Park

Explore Central Park, one of the largest city parks in the world and one of the most famous symbols of New York. Let’s have a look at its main sights.

Central Park is New York’s largest city park and one of the biggest in the world, with an area of 843 acres (about 3.4km²). This park is home to man-made lakes, waterfalls, grass and wooded areas. You will also find the Central Park Zoo, among other attractions in this greenspace of New York.

Besides being the city’s primary green lungs, Central Park is also a favorite spot for many New Yorkers. It is perfect for sunbathing, going for walks, or doing any outdoor sports. Something that we found curious is seeing so many people running with their babies in prams (婴儿车).

On Foot or by Bicycle

To get to know some of the wildest parts of Central Park we suggest walking. However, to get a general feel for the whole park, the best thing to do is hire a bicycle and enjoy the scenery.

If you decide to hire a bike, you will find lots of bike rental stores around Central Park that are not very expensive.

Open Time

From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.

From 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Price

Entry to the Park is free. But if you visit some parts like Central Park Zoo, you need to buy a ticket.

Transport

Subway: Line 5, 6, 7, A, B, C and D．

Bus: Line M1, M2, M3, M4 and M10.

Nearby places

Metropolitan Museum of Art (447 m)

Guggenheim Museum (564 m)

American Museum of Natural History (688 m)

Whitney Museum of American Art (1 km)

The Frick Collection (1.3 km)

1. What can we learn about the Central Park from the text?

A．It is home to lakes and waterfalls.

B．It is perfect for doing outdoor sports.

C．It is the largest city park in the world.

D．It is the most famous symbol of New York.

2. Which one of the following things is free?

A．Hiring a bicycle.	B．Entrance to Central Park.
C．Visiting Central Park Zoo.	D．Going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

3. Where can we find this text?

A．In a science report.	B．In a geography book.
C．In a fashion magazine.	D．In a travel guide.

8 . When I was a kid,I was the girl who kept the training wheels on my bike as long as possible.Even my younger sister had got rid of them much earlier than me.But as I began to grow older,this changed.

All this happened on the Bike Safety Day.It is supposed to be a fun day at school when all of us kids bring our bikes to school and the school provides us with the opportunity to ride outside and learn proper bike safety.Sounds like fun,right?No.In fact,it caused me to panic.What was I going to say when my friends asked me about my training wheels?

With the pressure of everyone seeing my training wheels,I determined to let them go.This was the first big change I’d ever made on my own.

I went to my parents and told them all about my dilemma.They were more than happy to help.We went outside and got my bike.Instead of running away and hiding behind,I stood in front of my bike and took great pride in my decision as my dad removed the training wheels.

I got on and steadied myself.My heart raced but my feet and hands were calm.My dad started to push before my feet even moved and suddenly I was off.The fear faded away and a relaxed mind came into its place.It was crazy to think how quickly I learned something that took so long for me to even try!

My confidence soared (高涨).This was going to be the start of a brand new world for me.My accomplishment would carry me forth to new goals and wins.I realized that if I set my mind on doing something,I could achieve it.

1. What does the school expect the students to do on Bike Safety Day?

A．Have their bikes checked.

B．Ride outside for fun.

C．Acquire bike safety skills.

D．Remove the training wheels.

2. What does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The author’s friends.	B．The author’s parents.
C．The safety problems.	D．The training wheels.

3. What happened when the author finally rode without the training wheels?

A．She felt extremely embarrassed.

B．Everything turned out to be easy.

C．She ended up falling down.

D．Her sisters followed her example.

4. What does the author think is necessary for her to achieve a goal?

A．Patience.	B．Determination.
C．Pressure.	D．Concentration.

9 . My name is Miranda Gibson. I have been at the top of a tree for five months now. Some people might wonder________on earth I would choose to do that.

I have walked through this forest many times. On December 12, 2011, ________rolled into the forest and the destruction (摧毁) began. I couldn’t________the thought that these forests would be________ forever. So, on December 14, 2011, I packed up my life, ________of my job plans, and climbed 60 meters to the top of this tree. I have been here ever since.

Life in the tree top can be________at times. I have times when I feel frustrated (沮丧的) and wish I could________, to anywhere, just have a ________of scenery for a minute! There are times too, when I feel terribly________.I miss my friends and family.________these times, I find myself loving the________.

Living on the tree has been inspiring. I am willing to________ here for as long as it takes,________I honestly hope it won’t be too________before I can put my feet on the ground below and stand in a forest that will never be________.

1.

A．why

B．when

C．how

D．where

2.

A．water

B．animals

C．machinery

D．tourists

3.

A．bear

B．help

C．keep

D．spare

4.

A．sold

B．stolen

C．protected

D．lost

5.

A．grew out

B．fell short

C．ran out

D．let go

6.

A．refreshing

B．risky

C．challenging

D．rewarding

7.

A．get up

B．get away

C．give in

D．give up

8.

A．change

B．look

C．search

D．touch

9.

A．confused

B．nervous

C．sorry

D．lonely

10.

A．Beyond

B．Without

C．Despite

D．Unlike

11.

A．height

B．experience

C．background

D．position

12.

A．return

B．stop

C．stay

D．hide

13.

A．but

B．though

C．because

D．so

14.

A．soon

B．long

C．near

D．bad

15.

A．moved

B．logged

C．burned

D．missed

10 . I was never very neat while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but my always hid somewhere. She even labeled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Overtime, Kate got neater and I got my merriser. She moved to push my dirty clothing over and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.

Who broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! why under my bed!” Suddenly I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up. She quickly crawled (爬) under her covers, crying. Obviously. that was something she could not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy (同情) rose up in my heart.

Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bad. Cleaned the suckers and swept the floor even on her side. I got so absorbed into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching. Her tears dried and her expression was such disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me. “Thanks.”

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

1. What made Kate so angry one evening?

A．She couldn’t find her books.

B．She heard the writer shouting loud.

C．She got the news that her grandma was ill.

D．She saw the writer’s shoes beneath her bed.

2. Why did the writer tidy up the room?

A．Because she was scared by Kate’s anger.

B．Because she hated herself for being so messy.

C．Because she wanted to show her care.

D．Because she was asked by Kate to do so.

3. How is paragraph 1 mainly developed?

A．By analyzing courses.

B．By showing differences.

C．By describing a process.

D．By following time order.

4. What might be the best title for the story?

A．My Friend Kate.

B．Hard Work Pays off.

C．How to Be Organized?

D．Learning to Be Roommates.